First Impressions

Dakha, city of collisions., like many overcrowded cities, and perhaps the nature of our time. Watch the people and you will understand that it is a city built on a foundation of tension. This tension wears on you, its tenacious; like a bad memory or a recouring parasite. The people walk proudly with stiff backs and unwavering glances, as if concentrating on staying upright so as not to fall among the crippled, mute, disabled, blind and forgotten whose hands line the edges of many streets. Unlike the crowds that move past them these beggars are devoid of eyes. Read any amount of Jewish Literature and one will soon notice that most write to defend or explicate humanity, one of the things they focus on is that we have eyes; it’s a connection point, a reference, an indication. But you can’t see these beggars’ eyes because they never raise there heads, and so, up till now, I have joined the masses that pass by. But I see them, I see that they too are image bearers, and it breaks my heart. I wish I could see there eyes though…

My first reactions to this country is that everything screams, its overwhelming. the bright colors, the piles of trash, the heat, and the sea of people all scream to the senses, thus making it all overwhelming. Here one does not see stark differences because everyone is poor beyond endurance. The awakening soul wants to shout "NO" to the vast poverty that is daily life, but that cry seems lost when faces become crowds; crowds, neighborhoods; neighborhoods, cities; cities, regions and regions devolve into statistics. What is the accurate response to a half a country on its knees? Or a whole people targeted as somehow less than human? Or a region made homeless?

I struggle against the chaos to live under the hand of a good God, and to live before his righteousness, his justice, his peace. With eyes wide open I see that life is full, and if I take time to see it then I will behold God with us and his gentle straightening out of that which is bent. Someone once said, “earth is crammed with heaven, and every bush alight with the presence of God, only those who take the time will remove their sandals and sit on holy ground, the others sit around and eat blackberries.” I like that idea.

Alright friends, thank you for listening. Please pray that I would see people as God sees people and I would remember that I am made for Him. He’s teaching me a lot, its just hard sometimes. May we daily strive to make Christ great among us. He is the reason we woke up this morning. Beautiful. I hope your summers are going well.