Headline: Nervous calm grips Fallujah as residents return (Richmond Times-Dispatch, 1/11/14)
Here are excerpts from the article...
- residents trickling back...
- a tense calm...
- Iraqi troops have taken up positions...
- other ant-government gunmen, their faces hidden by scarves...
- Markets have begun to open...
- situation remains tense...
- health care facilities running short on supplies...
This article really struck me and made me wonder how we would react to conditions of war right here in the United States. Of course, we have the Civil War to look back on as a war fought on our own continental soil, and much has been written about that period in our history, but that war occurred 150 years ago. There are no longer any survivors to lend an immediacy to our lives today.
It's tragic to think of ourselves having to flee our homes, seeing them destroyed, losing family members, going hungry, having to rely on others to take care of us, and so on...
We surely need to pray for these unfortunate people (men, women and children) who have so much to endure in so many countries around the world. We need to thank God for all that has been given to us: for our lives, our work, our worship, each other. And we need to work for peaceful solutions to problems, rather than having to read headlines like the one above.
After all, we are brothers and sisters. We all bleed the same color. We all have hopes and dreams for ourselves and our families. We may call our God by different names or by none at all, but He knows our needs and cares for us even when we think that no one's there...
Our God relies on us to be His workers in the world... to continue to bring about His Kingdom... Looks like we're falling down on the job, don't-cha think?
~ Image - Salon.com
