I Heard the News Today

I heard the news today. I turned the television on and heard ... there are innocent children dying in the streets of a foreign land. Our soldiers are sacrificing their lives and innocence for our freedoms. Politicians are arguing over the present state of our country. Town Halls are filled with angry citizens screaming for their voices to be heard. The unemployment rate moves up and down like a yo-yo. The local factories are famous on the evening news when they lock out their employees. Party lines are drawn between the liberals and conservatives, each one blaming the other for America's downfall.

I heard the news today and, just as many times before, I became angry, scared and depressed. Why even watch when there is nothing that has a "feel good" moment in it? But, I watch regardless. I want to know if the unemployment rate is changing. Why? Because, if it changes for our nation than perhaps it will change enough to bring work to the factory where my husband used to spend his days. He hasn't worked in five months. I watch to see if the war is nearing an end, it never seems to end. I listen, I want to know what will happen with health care. Will my parents get the care they need according to the present plan. I don't know because I don't understand the foreign language our politicians seem to speak. I'm a common person, I would prefer that someone simply lay it out in clear explanations. But, I continue to watch becoming more confused and angrier with each word.

I found myself wishing for a place where party lines could be crossed. A place where no one cares if you're a republican, democrat, conservative or liberal. I long for the feeling of "community" and "coming together."

I heard the news today that there is a child fighting for life. A child battling a disease that ravages through the body and stains every inch ... just like a drop of dye in a glass of water ... this disease seeps in and stains everything. I heard the news and was no longer a conservative republican, no longer one of many American citizens arguing over my beliefs or opinions ... I was a mother on her knees praying for another mom who must somehow take her baby's innocence with the news that he is dying.

In that moment, party lines disappeared. The children dying on the streets of a foreign land became one child dying in our country. The soldiers sacrificing their lives for freedom became one mother willing to sacrifice her life for a child she adores. The town halls filled with angry citizens became one home filled with a family hurting and screaming for a way to understand this disease. The unemployment rate became the rate of survival from something even doctors struggle to understand.

I heard the news today and realized there is a place where party lines can be crossed. A place where no one cares about your political party. That place is on your knees in prayer for a mother, father and child.

I heard the news today and went directly to that place. Join me there. Come to the place where God can erase the party lines and cleanse the stain on a child's life. Pray for this child as if you were praying for your own.

Romans 15:30 "I urge you brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ, and by the love of the Spirit, to join me in my struggle by praying to God for me."