After a particularly long and hard week a few years ago, a colleague asked me how I was doing. I thought about all the tragic news in the world that had intensified during that past week...I thought about members of the church community who were facing great suffering...I thought about my own circumstances and took a deep breath and said - I have a heavy heart.
That dear colleague asked her daughter (an artist who works with stone and metal) to make a heavy heart for me from welded metal and stone. It is indeed very heavy - as is my heart today. The news from around the world and from this country weigh my heart down like it is made of iron and stone.
Cyclone Idai and its unprecedented devastation was high on my radar as soon as I heard that Malawi was involved. God forgive me for not having my heart race before hearing about Malawi - the devastation alone should have made me weep for the people of Mozambique and Zimbabwe. But the story was competing for my attention and tears with the shooting in New Zealand - I couldn't manage to get my head around both of them plus what was happening politically in America and the UK.
.
Then I heard Malawi - and my first thought was Tracy and her family. Malawi is not just a place on a map - it has a face for me.
When Dr. Tracy Thomson Morse was a wee girl attending Sunday School at Chapel of Garioch Kirk in Scotland, she heard about the Church of Scotland's missionary outreach to Malawi and about the poverty present in that country - and she decided that she wanted to do something to help. She never forgot that desire to help. Fast forward to her college years and she was able to spend time working and researching in Malawi and decided to make improving life for those who live there her life's work. Her Mum Kathleen went to visit her in her Malawi and was stunned by the level of poverty and the suffering of the many orphans. Kathleen came back to Scotland determined to make a difference, and with her husband Dave and other concerned friends at the Kirk formed FROM (Famine Relief for the Orphans of Malawi). 100% of the funds and goods donated benefit efforts to provide clean water, food, and medical care for the most vulnerable in Malawi. Please take a moment to read about this resourceful and creative charity and see what can happen when we take the time to teach our children about Christ's call to care for those in need - and then follow their example:
http://fromscotland.org.uk/index.html
Nothing gives a pastor a greater sense of hope than to see parishioners creatively responding to the needs in the world - discovering that they are the answer to the question "who is going to do something about this injustice and suffering?" Kathleen and Dave Thomson did just that, and with the help of fellow parishioners Lewis and Doreen Taylor, founded a most innovative and successful answer to basic needs in Malawi. And none of that might have happened if not for Tracy's determination to make a difference...and a dear Sunday School teacher's desire to teach children about our responsibility to care for those in need.
I reached out to Tracy's dad Dave and he said that Traci and her family are safe, but they guess that about 250,000 are now homeless and 60 are dead. FROM immediately sprung into high gear and Dave shares the following: Roads
As bleak as this news is, the worse is yet to come. Deep sigh and gulp. Addressing the suffering in this world is a marathon, not a sprint. Heavy heart or not, we have to keep going.
What nourishes you to keep you in the race? What lightens the heaviness in your heart so you can keep serving? As the news gets more and more bleak, I am thinking seriously about how to keep myself refreshed and renewed so I can stay in this marathon. Certainly one of the things that keeps me going is seeing such a creative response to need as FROM Scotland and Family Promise right here in our community (which is about to celebrate its 15th anniversary here in Summit County). But another teacher of resiliency for me is my grandson Benjamin.
Benjamin and his dad came to visit me on Saturday. He was sick with a double ear infection and all the symptoms of a bad upper respiratory infection - including being a bit cranky while coughing - sneezing - being heavily congested - ear tugging - crying - in short, being just plain miserable.
But he didn't stay miserable all the time. Instead, he stayed in the moment and allowed himself to be surprised by whatever wonder came his way. Including ants.
I am NOT a fan of ants in the house. I was relieved when the inspection report of my new house said there were no pests, and upset when I discovered that somehow ants did not warrant mention as said pest. I grew up in an (unhealthy) era that included my mother running around the house with a can of Raid spraying anything that might be alive. She associated all forms of household insects with having a dirty house and would be mortified to see my dear grandson getting down on his tummy propped up by his elbows and watching the ants amble across the floor. "Hi Ant" he would say, almost waiting for them to reply. He watched them with utter fascination and joy and followed their every movement until he was distracted by something equally fascinating (giving the ants time to escape their new and much bigger playmate). His ability to stay in the present moment and be surprised by joy was contagious. Well, maybe not in relation to ants but certainly in relation to taking the time to appreciate what was in my midst at that moment. And my ant moment was Benjamin and his utter wonder and joy.
I wonder if finding a way to be present - in the moment - to the wonders of life would help as we continue to deal with 24/7 nonstop tragic, anger-inducing and heartbreaking news cycle. Since there is a long road ahead of us and the news doesn't look to be getting better, perhaps it's time to give this strategy a try.
And perhaps it is time to for me sit outside with B and see what joy and wonder awaits us in the midst of God's creation. Then I'll check the news...
Tracy and the good people of FROM and all those who volunteer with Family Promise - know that we hold you in our prayers, and will support you every way we can! You inspire us more than you can possibly know!
With love and prayers for the journey,
Kim
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