What I Want for the New Year

It's hard to believe that 2008 has come and gone. I went to a friend's house for a bit and then came home around 10:30. I slept my way into the New Year. But all day yesterday and today I have been pondering what I want for the New Year.

Hope. I still want to focus on hope. I've learned a lot about it this past year, but I think that there is more to learn. But rather than just hope I also want to learn about peace.

I want peace in the Middle East.

I want peace in the United States. What could be accomplished if the Democrats and Republicans actually worked together?

I want fewer homocides.

I want peace in the world. No more genocides.

I want peace for every child.

I want peace in my relationships.

I want to be a peace maker rather than a peace taker.

More than that, I want to have the peace that passeth all understanding.

Towards the end of John, Jesus has had the last supper with the disciples. He has told them what is to come, but none of them fully understand it.

In many ways, I think peace was Jesus parting gift to the disciples. John 14:23-27 says this:

Jesus replied, "If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. He who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me."

"All this I have spoken while with you. But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives you. Do not not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid."

Peace is more than the absence of conflict and strife. It is something that comes from the Father. It is something that God has given even in the midst of the hard ugly stuff in the world. I look at my list of things I want peace for. I do want peace for each of those things. But I want to be marked as a person of peace even in the midst of the hard things of life. I want the peace that passeth all understanding.

That is a big prayer. My life so far has been marked by anxiety and depression. When something isn't right, when I am in the midst of a conflict or hard situation, I obsess about it. But that is not what God wants me to do. Should I give it my time and thoughts to help remedy the situation? Yes, but more than that I should be able to hand it to Him and rest in knowing that He is in control.

I think of the disciples in the midst of a storm with Jesus asleep in the boat. They were panic stricken and almost with indignation woke Jesus and cried, "Don't you care if we drown?" My life so far has echoed that cry. "God, don't you care that I'm drowning down here?" But Jesus does care. When they wake him Jesus says, "Quiet! Be still!" In that moment the wind and waves completely die down. But then he almost rebukes the disciples. "Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?" (Mark 4:35-41)

I want to be one who can be at peace in the midst of the storm. That is not to say I want the storms. But I know that they are part of life. I want the hope and peace that comes from knowing Jesus to be evident to everyone in my life and be a testimony to Him.

I came across this anonymous quote:

Peace. It does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble, or hard work. It means to be in the midst of these things and have a calm heart.

May God grant us all calm hearts that hope in Him this New Year.

A Child in Rwanda -- Compassion International

Heads up. This is not my typical post. It tells about my other Compassion child in Rwanda, but also deals a bit with the Rwandan Genocide in 1994. I hope you'll still read, but it is just very different from my other posts.

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As I write, the things I sent for Delia and her family are in Ecuador. My friend left yesterday on her trip. I'm praying that everything went well.


But I wanted to introduce you to the other little girl I sponsor. I recently received an updated photo. I think she looks taller in this picture than the last.





Kayirangwa is 9 and she lives in Rwanda. Rwanda is a small country in Africa. How, you might ask, did I get from sponsoring a child in Ecuador to sponsoring one in Rwanda?

Several years ago, I read a book called The Good News About Injustice: A Witness of Courage in a Hurting World by Gary A. Haugen. Gary is the president of International Justice Mission. It is an organization that works with victims of slavery, exploitation, and violent oppression. No, this is not light reading. But it is important reading!

I think I was gripped with the opening paragraph. He talks about making his typical commute one morning in 1994 and having the thought of saying to his fellow travelers, "Excuse me, friends, but did you know that less than forty-eight hours ago I was standing in the middle of several thousand corpses in a muddy mass grave in a tiny African country called Rwanda?"

What? 1994? I remember thinking that those things just didn't happen any more. I had consigned them to the Holocaust and World War II.

But they do happen, like most things of that nature, for little or no reason (or rather exaggerated reason). The Rwandan genocide was between the Tutsi and Hutu people of Rwanda. The Hutu militia and every day civilians killed their neighbors -- anyone of Tutsi descent or anyone perceived as sympathetic to the Tutsi. Most estimates of the death toll are 800,000 to the 1,000,000 mark. Supposedly, it was fueled by the belief that the Tutsi and Hutu are very different and with one being superior. Sigh. In reality, there is very little genetic difference. All of that death took place in 100 days.

Perhaps one of the saddest aspects is that the world looked on and did very little to stop the escalating violence. President Clinton apologized during his term. But it makes me wonder if it wasn't a bit like World War II. There were rumors of concentration camps but we didn't step in until attacked.

I was surprised by the book and my own ignorance of the situation. I do well to keep up on local news. Global news is hard to grasp. Still, I think I should do better.

Delia caught my heart because of language (I cannot speak it but I took Spanish in high school and college) and the relative closeness of Ecuador. Kayirnagwa caught my heart because of reading that book and that sadness that anything like that could happen so recently. It was only 14 years ago. At 9 she wouldn't have been born yet, but I am sure her parents were. What an awful thing to have lived through. What a difficult thing to heal from -- whatever side you were on.

I came across a 2007 newsletter from Compassion about Rwanda. It shares the story of Emmanuel. His mother had survived the devastation but had hardened her heart. How could God care if all of those things had happened? But Emmanuel was enrolled in Compassion and became a Christian. Each morning he knelt to pray. Still, his mother wasn't interested.

In 2006 there was a drought. His mother wanted to flee the country in search of relief. Emmanuel told her not to, that his Compassion center was providing rations to families affected by the famine. At first she didn't believe him, but he convinced her to go and see. The workers loaded her with rice and water. As a result of Emmanuel's witness and Compassion's practical intervention, his mother became a Christian.

That is how I got from the United States and Ecuador to Rwanda. I know that Kayirangwa likes to jump rope and play games and that she has chores. I do not know how she or her family might have been impacted by what happened. But still, I hope, that in some small way my giving to her gives her hope and healing for her family and the tiniest bit of healing for her country. I am thankful that I know a God who can multiply what I give and what Emmanuel's sponsor gave a million times over.

Now, if any of you know of anyone going to Rwanda, I'd love to be able to send Kayirangwa something like I did for Delia!