Hold Onto Hope
Keeping in mind that the intense suffering of war has not directly impacted my life, I personally have not lost a loved one physically or emotionally due to consequences of that heroic sacrifice. With that disclaimer, I have never seen so much collective pain and suffering in the people I know and love than I see now.
It could be my own mind wasn’t aware or focused on others before, but I honestly feel it has more to do with the times in which we live, the season our world is trying to survive.
My prayer list is overflowing…it has come to a point that when someone pops in my mind I pray for them whether I know what’s going on or not. Everybody is in need. When I spend time praying for family and friends, I list all of the names and am intentional about the sufferings of which I know… in the past, my prayer time was used for only the ones I knew about, the ones who asked me to pray.
Comparing degrees of suffering serves no purpose. Saying that one person or group suffers more than another is like comparing apples and oranges. There is so much we don’t know about everyone’s personal emotions and experiences. We must respect that we can’t know all of the details. If someone loses their emotional support animal, their pain could be at a greater degree than if they lose someone, they love… this may seem out of sorts, how can an animal mean more than a human? but if that beloved pet helped the person handle life on a daily basis the loss could hold greater weight than the loss of someone you love but don’t depend on in order to thrive in life. Just one example why we always need to be gentle with anyone who is grieving because there is much we can’t comprehend.
Having said that I am going to contradict myself for the sake of this reflection…
Could it be that Gen Z might qualify for the highest impact of suffering during the pandemic? Possible answers yes, no, maybe… in order to not create a right or wrong conflict, can we say maybe so I can continue with my thoughts.😊
Think back on your teenage years…messy right? So many emotions, so much learning, so many heartbreaks due to organic relationship lessons, trying to fit in, compromising your own identity so you don’t stand out, mistakes in making choices, regrets you don’t know what to do about, who can you trust, definitely not your parents, they know absolutely nothing, grateful for finally seeing that truth, rules are just annoyances to stop the fun, yearning for adult freedoms because you know you can do it better, the confusing feeling of what you should do after graduation, what do you mean you don’t know what you want to do the rest of your life?…
I’m sure you can add to that list…
And then imagine….
Shut down! The world as we know it comes to a screeching halt! All events canceled!
So many disappointments, so much social grief, proms, baseball sectional, spring break trip, spring musical cancelled, graduation, summer of party before college, income stream frozen, and the worst of all! Stuck at home with your lame parents who know nothing and are overly concerned about your emotional well being! And they want to reengage in a relationship because this is an answer to their prayer of getting their child back! Nightmare!
Let’s move forward a few years, pandemic is still lurking but for the most part, the direct trauma is behind us. We now face the hangover of the global event, psychological healing, the financial strain on everything, job opportunities are not necessarily safe (sexual harassment, capitalism without a moral compass) the physical health crisis from Covid and the stress, overwhelmed medical personal, the hidden mental health crisis is now exposed and creating havok.
Who can we trust? Media? Politicians? Education? Medical arena? Faith leaders? Police? Truth is every one of those spaces is not showing strong evidence of authenticity, transparency, and action for the greater good.
Who can you trust? Who is walking the walk? Who is practicing what they preach?
Too many times I have used these words… do what I say, not what I do… At the time, it felt like a safety net and something funny to express but in all honestly there is truth there and I have been convicted as to how unfair that philosophy is, even if it is a weak attempt at humor.
So back to Gen Z… what will happen to them? How in the world do they stand a chance? The world and all they know is at an all time high of instability!
Didn’t Jesus tell us He is close to the broken-hearted? The persecuted? The lost? The lonely?
But they don’t go to church, they haven’t been educated on the truth, they are out of control accepting everyone, especially the ones we ‘know’ are living a life of sin. They have no boundaries. They don’t listen to authority. They don’t even have scripture memorized.
Did you hear about the revival at Asbury? At college campuses across the United States, both public and private, Did you hear of people flying in from other countries to witness it?
Did you hear about revival in adoration chapels? at mass? in the individual hearts of those praying for such a time as this?
Did you hear that where there is much pain and suffering, grace is abound?
Did you hear about the skeptics?
Did you hear about the repentance?
Did you hear about Love and Acceptance?
Do you feel a burning of hope inside? Like the world just might be set ablaze for the Good?
God’s up to something!
His plan is unfolding.
Keep your eyes and ears open!
His Power will blow you away! And it won’t come in the ways of the past…
God is always creating, expanding, loving, moving away from scarcity and into abundance and His plan will come to fruition.
Of that I have no doubt!
Come on Gen Z! The world needs to learn about what you know!
Come, Holy Spirit, Come!