When my children woke up this morning—our toddler bellowing for freedom from her crib, the older three wandering into the kitchen with sticky-up-hair and sleepy eyes—I wanted to hug them too tight because some part of my soul was howling:
What if it was you? What if it was you in a clinic in Syria, foaming at the mouth, weeping with pain?
Oh, God, these children could be my children, they are all our children. The whole time I made breakfast and beds, the whole time my gut was boiling with anger and grief and the need to DO SOMETHING.
I refuse to do nothing.
I won’t turn away, and I beg you to stay awake to the pain of what we are witnessing in Syria now, too.
Let yourself feel it. The howl is caught in your throat, I know.
Don’t turn away now. And for God’s sake, don’t numb yourself to it. Don’t inoculate yourself to this.
You are waking up now. Stay awake!
Channel that rage and grief you feel, that sense of connection rising, and push it straight into peacemaking and into prayer.
I’m going to lend whatever small voice I have to the peacemaking and the healing. Oh, you better believe I’m emailing and calling politicians and government and law-makers today.
But I’m also resourcing the peacemaking and praying earnestly.
If you’re looking for a place to give, I cannot say enough about my friends Jeremy Courtney and Jessica Courtney at Preemptive Love Coalition. They are responding, providing medical care and help for families affected by the chemical attack. Anything you can give matters.
Stay awake to Syria’s pain. Donate today to help families caught in the crossfire.
This post originally appeared on Sarah’s Facebook page. Republished with the author’s permission. Edited to reflect the fact that Jeremy and Jessica are NOT “on the ground” in Syria as the author originally said.
