Christmas

I suppose I have been subconciously diving into hard, but very worth while stories.

For the last couple days I have been completely engrossed in the Thousand Splendid Sun’s novel (by Khaled Hosseini). It is an incredible insight into Afghani culture through out the many battles, over-takings, and cultural changes they have seen. It is written about two different women, and is incredibly powerful, and at times so hard to read.

Then just after I finished reading the book (400 pages in 3 days… has to be a record for me), I found myself going to a movie I had been LONG waiting to see: The Boy in the Striped Pajamas. I wanted to weep at the end of that movie.

It is a beautifully told tragic story about a son of a Nazi soldier who meets some Jews from the concentration camp.

Every time I see or read stories like this- that I know are based on such harsh truths about how humanity has treatedone another, I wonder how this can be… how can we be SO cruel to one another? How is it that we have allowed ourselves to become so blineded and that we have given into lies that tell us that just because they are of another race, gender, color- that they are somehow less than human?!?!?!

It is sickening.

The saddest part is that atrocities such as  these, are still far from complete history. Still today we have genocides, racism, women being oppressed, religions being oppressed, people being unjustly tortured, we have terrorism, war, abuse, corrupt governments,…

I guess in the midst of this harsh reality when I stop and think of the season and the story of Jesus in a manger- it becomes so much more amazing to me. Our GOD made himself the most vulnerable thing: a baby, and was born in a stable! He came into the midst of a people that had the same issues as I listed above: corrupt governments, oppression, terrorism, abuse, etc.

His own creation had turned on him and on eachother and he came down to love. To walk with and among us. To SAVE us. that blows my mind. How can you forgive a people like this?

We have an amazing GOD.