Different Purpose, Same Suffering
As I pondered an Easter reflection, I realized that it was Mary’s standing at the foot of the cross that caused a pivot in my mind… wait a minute…Mary STOOD at the foot of the cross! Wait what!? How could she stand?
Even Peter ran away!
Did John stay because of Mary?… He felt she needed him… still honorable… but the women were there through the suffering… ride or die…that is a response I do not comprehend…a compassionate loving strength that rises from within… that no one can stop… even though they try… a strength just as strong as the brave courageous warriors who are fighting in Ukraine! A strength as strong as the moms leaving their country with their children to keep them safe…
Same strength different function… the man and the woman in Ukraine do what they are called to do for the good of their family… the good of their community, the good of their country…a personal purpose for the family of equal suffering and equal importance for their country to continue in the function of Love not evil. People who will need help from the world to give them support now and in the future when the emotional damage settles in… when the current and future generations suffer from the trauma that ALL have endured.
Following WW1 WW2, when the courageous and broken US soldiers returned home…they found a different America … one in which the women had figured out how to do the roles the men had been responsible for and were unable to do while they were away defending our country … different purpose, equal suffering…because of the traumatic emotional pain on both sides, men and women were unable to help each other… both just trying to breath on their own, one day at a time. In this separation of roles, the understanding and the coping, the family became divided… compassion was hard to locate because everyone was in survival mode… first give oxygen to yourself.
That is not how we are supposed to do life… as a country in general we got stuck there… division… comparison… competition… shutting off emotions…don’t talk about it… you have no reason to be sad… keep your troubles hidden… only reveal good stuff… now look at today… look at where that emotional fall out has delivered us… look at social media… yeah, we can blame the global state of culture on social media and yet honestly we’ve been sliding down this slippery slope since the World Wars…social media has brought to light the broken mental state that until now was hidden in the darkness. The evil patterns, coping skills, and longtime suffering are now being exposed.
Let us do better…Let us do what Christ came here to show us… Let us love one another… no one left behind…compassion for all including the Russians… not just the good Russians but the leaders who are leading with evil intend… you know that love your enemy thing…how did they get there?
We can all pray that God wins (a very safe bet) but He needs us to spread the Good News… He needs us now more than ever to help Him in the battle of Love over hate…
Join me in praying and then keep your eyes and ears open for a calling… whether you are to build up your own family in honor of those families divided by the war… or called to make a financial donation to help boots on the ground or called to serve in a deliberate way. Opportunity awaits and doesn’t need to be big in order to be affective.
God has invited us to join His team…I will do my best! Realizing I do not know what I will be called to do and knowing that some days I will be productive and others I may need to just rest will be the grace I intend to give to myself. Now to quiet myself long enough to hear what He has planned for me to do, which could be the most challenging part.
We have a God who is both male and female… He created us in His image…He is complete… we are not… We need God… we need a savior… we need an advocate… it would also be nice if we recognized we need each other…community… the way God planned it from the beginning and Jesus came to reframe for us… all loved… all valued… all playing a role in God’s kingdom…
Jesus said… “I came so they could be One.” Until we understand this and move toward unity away from division… we are not working on the side of Love… if we are not working for God… who are we then working for?
Mary, standing at the foot of her crucified beloved son, still blows my mind. Honestly, her relentless trust in God is something that leaves me in awe. When I have suffered, I found it hard to even get out of bed. Mary’s witness gives me strength to rise, press on, keep moving, keep loving, and it reminds me to keep my eyes on her Son… to do whatever He says.