May God bless you with a restless discomfort

May God bless you with a restless discomfort about easy answers, half-truths and superficial relationships, so that you may seek truth boldly and love deep within your heart.


May God bless you with holy anger at injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people, so that you may tirelessly work for justice, freedom, and peace among all people.

May God bless you with the gift of tears to shed with those who suffer from pain, rejection, starvation, or the loss of all that they cherish, so that you may reach out your hand to comfort them and transform their pain into joy.

May God bless you with enough foolishness to believe that you really CAN make a difference in this world, so that you are able, with God's grace, to do what others claim cannot be done.

And the blessing of God the Supreme Majesty and our Creator,
Jesus Christ the Incarnate Word who is our brother and Savior,
and the Holy Spirit, our Advocate and Guide,
be with you and remain with you, this day and forevermore.

AMEN

It has been two days since I first read the Franciscan Blessing, and I cannot get it out of my head.  Then this morning in our team devotional this scripture was read that to be honest I never recall hearing before. 

Jeremiah 22:16
"He pled the cause of the afflicted and needy;
Then it was well.
Is not that what it means to know me?"
Declares the Lord

For months, years, my heart has been crying out for those who are oppressed, for the injustices of the world, for those in poverty and the hate and bitterness that causes us to lash out blindly at anyone weaker than us.   Where we are working these atrocities pour out abundantly, in a personal way that makes it hard to ignore and forget like we might do with the stories on the news or the horror stories that are beginning to be so common in families and communities now days.  But it isn't enough.  What we are doing isn't enough, you must join in this fight.  I don't want to tell sad stories but trust me I have plenty.  It would be pointless if guilt pushed you into doing something in this fight.  I plead with you to fall on your knees and beg God to cover you and fill you with this blessing.  Only with Him will we be able to make a difference. 

Another recent reason that is adding to my burden for the oppressed is a new project that we will hopefully begin implementing in the local children's hospital where I volunteer every week.  The majority of patients are from families in extreme poverty, often needing to choose between buying food or medicines.  I have been discussing with the doctors possible opportunities and projects that we could put into place during the two months were we have short-term volunteers.  Just last week I agreed to write up a project concerning patient empowerment, but not just in relation to their situation as a patient but also in their everyday lives as well.  I have struggled in writing this project as we will be facing many challenges, such as a high turnover in the participants, varied age ranges, some participants with illiteracy, and most who are not from the area.  However, these are the desired results from our project:
- Empowerment leading to more personal responsibility for health situation thus creating less dependence on the doctors and staff leading to a more holistic health care.
- A presence of more positive attitudes and an improvement in staff/patient relationships.
- An understanding how God desires to see empowered people turning away from hopelessness and helplessness.
- A deeper understanding of the role of community in our personal struggles and how we effect our community.

Tomorrow I will present the idea to the head doctors on the wing where I volunteer.  I appreciate your prayers towards the success of this endeavor against the mindset of poverty.