This Broken World

I would be surprised if we could find anyone in the entire world today that would disagree with this: The world has lots of problems. As a Christian, I call the world broken. From coronavirus and quarantines to the murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor to the destruction of property and rain forests, this world is a mess. 

The broken world is one I love. I love its mountains and oceans, its human and animal inhabitants. All of which I am somewhat cut-off from right now. We should be preparing for a long-awaited visit from cousins this month, but these visits have been canceled due to coronavirus precautions. Next month, we were supposed to go back to the Midwest to see our parents, some of our siblings, our children, and our grandchildren. Canceled.

We usually are hiking and kayaking at least once a week by now, but Colorado has put limitations on their open space and the tribe has asked us not to travel off-reservation except for essential business. Our teenager, instead of hanging out with her friends at NYPUM (National Youth Project Using Motorcycles), is hanging out at home with her family. Our little guys are not participating in the Jicarilla Department of Youth programs, learning their language and culture with their friends; instead they are playing in their yard (which is awesome with a ninja warrior obstacle course, tons of space to ride their bikes, and sprinklers to keep them cool).

This world is broken in the best of times. It is certainly shattered right now. So what do we do? What does a Christian do in a broken world? 

The same thing Christians do in all times: Speak Life. 

We speak to God's goodness and power and grace. God has provided for our family in so many ways! We have joyfully received donations of food and drink. We have been blessed with enough money to pay for the more-expensive groceries. Our children are all handling quarantine with grace. It's not easy, but they are finding happiness in our everyday experiences.

We speak faithfully of God's provision. We tell others about how worried we were for our mission partners in India. They have over 30 people in their household right now, including orphans and Bible teachers! The coronavirus cases are exploding in their area, so they are mostly staying inside. We talk about how we've prayed for their food needs...feeding 30 people is no easy task, especially when shortages of all foodstuffs have raised prices to double and triple normal costs. And then we receive some "extra" money from the government or from skype-tutoring and are able to send our tithe to India to help feed this mission group. 

We reach out to those in our own backyard. There are many people who walk through the church property to reach other parts of town here in Dulce. We have always prayed for/with these people. We frequently have provided meals for these neighbors. And we continue to do these things. A friend (knowing that we do these things) recently sent over 40 cloth masks for us to give away. So when someone knocks at the door requesting a meal, we can provide a mask for them to wear to protect others (including us) from disease. We put together some food and drink for those who are hungry, and then we pray together (6 feet apart) before they leave. 

We reach out to those farther away. All of our friends and relatives are in this same broken world as we are. Some of them are struggling with the isolation of coronavirus and some are struggling with the pain of repeated violence toward Black lives. Our black and brown friends and family are suffering from anxiety and depression at much higher rates since George Floyd's murder and the ensuing protests. We can text our farther-away friends and family to encourage them. We can telephone them to check in. We can have something caring delivered to them. We can mail them cards, drawings, photos, etc. We can reach out on social media to uplift. We can pray for them regularly. 

We are not helpless. Our help comes from the Lord! He is never without power. His grace is unending. His love overflows our need. He will provide. Always. In all ways. 

Let me say that again.

He will provide.

Always.

In all ways.

Amen.