The photo of little Aylan Kurdi's dead body, washed up on a Turkish shore, broke my heart last week. Surely you saw it, too?
Aylan, his brother, and his mother all drowned when the small, overloaded boat sank as they desperately tried to flee Syria for Europe.
The photo, and dozens of others, made me realize that I could not ignore the worst humanitarian crisis since World War II.
Over four million people have fled Syria alone. That's one-fifth of the population there.
It's not hard to understand why Syrians are fleeing. Bashar al-Assad's regime has targeted civilians ruthlessly, including with chemical weapons and barrel bombs; ISIS has subjected Syrians to murder, torture, crucifixion, sexual slavery, and other appalling atrocities; and other groups such as Jabhat al-Nusra have tortured and killed Syrians as well. (Vox)
Oh, I've been watching the news. I've been moved by the plight of the Syrians over the past year or so. I've donated online to relief organizations a couple of times. I've prayed for the refugees when I've thought of them.
But mostly, I've hoped that someone else would solve the problem. It's just too big, too overwhelming. And the whole Middle East thing looks absolutely hopeless.
And maybe, I thought, the people are getting what they deserve in some way. They are Muslims, and don't many of them hate Christians? Sooooo....they might have brought this on themselves. Maybe the world should shut their borders, turn their shoulders, and let them bomb each other to bits.
Because, hey, we can't even solve our own problems, let alone theirs.
The thing is, I wasn't really thinking about the actual people living there.
The real people. The mothers and fathers who want their children to go to school and grow up to live peaceful lives. I wasn't really seeing the children who want to play soccer and make-believe, and go to birthday parties and attend a school that hasn't been destroyed. I wasn't thinking about the shop-keepers, the doctors, lawyers, teachers, taxi drivers, and everyday people whose lives are shattered by all the war and hatred.
I didn't see Aylan.
But now I do.
I've been asking myself: how will I respond?
And I just keep thinking: I will respond with love.
Because love is always what we should do.
This post by Ann Voskamp gives some ways we can show up for this moment: Why Now is The Church's Moment and It Will Take All of Us Not to Miss It.
I'm opening my heart to the refugees of the world.
I don't really know what that will mean. I don't really know what that is going to look like.
All I know is that I....we....have to say "yes" to love. This is beyond politics and race and differing faiths.
This is about people in need, period.
And whenever we don't know what to do, or how to do it, or what it's gonna involve, we should just show up.
We should always say "yes" to love.
Because LOVE is how we should do everything.
I encourage you to go to WeWelcomeRefugees.com to find out how you can help. Take a photo of yourself holding the words, #WeWelcomeRefugees and post it to social media, as a simple place to start.
Lastly, think about the opportunity we have to change the world, here.
Jesus said that the world would know us by our love....not by our political stances, our doctrinal points, or our views on issues of the day. As important as we think they may be, they pale by comparison to the one thing he told us to do: love others.
With that same love,
Rachel
PS Here is a good explanation of the European refugee crisis, and how it got to where it is now. Europe's Refugee Crisis, Explained
