For such a time as this...

For if you keep silent at this time,
Relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, 
But you and your father’s house will perish.
And who knows where you have not come to the kingdom 
For such a time as this.
Esther 4: 14 ESV


For such a time as this....

This scripture keeps surfacing in my mind.  

For such a time as this.
What a time. A time when we have no idea what truth is.
Accusations fly constantly, right and left, confusion and misinformation abound.
To find truth- you need to seek it, check every source, follow every rabbit trail.
Media screams and shouts and exploits emotions that are already stressed and running high.
The world seems to be ruled by a tsunami of selfishness and greed.
Times are hard.

It's a  time where it is suddenly OK to rip children from their parents, and put them in cages.
Now, before you huff and puff, I know there is a lot of nuance, that it's "complicated."
For those who would say that it is because people are coming here illegally- that may be true. 
Or not- many are seeking refuge and asylum from gangs and violence in their countries.
Wouldn't you do the same?
For your children?
If we do not learn from history- we are doomed to repeat it.  

As you read and watch the news, imagine it is YOUR child.
Ripped from you- and PUT IN A CAGE.
No comfort, no explanation, no idea what is happening.
It must be terrifying for them.

For those who say- “criminals” often have their children taken away... 
They do- and there is a process, through the courts, through a social service- that is hopefully seeking what is best for the child, for their well-being- they are placed in CARE, not in CAGES. They are put in a family.

Y’all can yell and rant about the immigration issues and whose fault it is, blah, blah, blah. It's Obama that started it- no it's only the demon overlord Trump.
Frankly, it's everyone's fault.
Systems are broken and overloaded and stretched beyond capacity, yes. Laws are being broken, yes.
It is a hot mess in a broken world.
But now it is time to FIX IT.

Think about the CHILDREN.
CHILDREN.

Taken away from their family- without hugs, without comfort.
Imagine, YOUR CHILD, being taken away,  not understanding why, being forced to sleep on the floor with a flimsy blanket- not being tucked in, no stories, no prayers, no kiss goodnight, no reassurance that they are safe, that there is no monster under the bed, no assurance that their parents will be there when they wake up and all will be well. None of that- just cold concrete, crowds, chain link fences, confusion and adults that aren’t allowed to care.  
Imagine that this is YOUR CHILD.
What would you want people to do?

ON WHAT PLANET IS THIS OKAY???

Apparently, this one. It is disgusting at best and wrong on so many levels. 
Children: the future, the beloved, the innocent, the frightened, the sick, the weak...are paying the price for a power play.  
I don’t give a crap about politics. I give a crap that many people in our country think putting a child in a cage is acceptable. This is not camp, this is not day care.
To a little PERSON, this is TORTURE. We need to remember that these are PEOPLE.
People made in the image of God.  How we treat them is how we treat Jesus.
If you are a Christian- THAT is truth.
This situation is traumatic, and something that will affect these children for the rest of their lives. They don’t understand that they haven’t been abandoned, they don’t understand that they are part of “making a point” or taking a stand or whatever lie we are telling ourselves to ease our consciences.
They only understand that they don’t understand. They are alone, in a strange place, in an unfriendly environment with people they don’t know- who can’t touch them or comfort them.  For real.
It’s their little hearts living in this fear that keep me up and praying at night.  This is how lies enter their souls-
 "no one cares"
"I am abandoned"
"I am alone"
"I will never be safe"
For them, this is truth.  They don't know that there is a revolution happening- that many people are in an uproar because this is not okay. There are people fighting this injustice. They just know what they know- which is pretty desperate. 

So yes- let us not keep silent. Let us yell.  Let us vote. Let us clamor until change happens. Politics can be sorted later. Let us get these children to safety. Let us get them to their families. Let us remember love. Let us remember that somewhere along the way, all of our families were “immigrants”- some seeking asylum. Let us remember that we have done horrible things to people and children along the way- in the name of “democracy” and “The American Dream.”  We have committed genocide, we have sold people and their children, we have put people in internment camps and then pointed fingers at the Nazi’s.
We, as a nation, are not above abominable behavior towards our fellow man, woman and child.
We have done it before.

We have an opportunity to do what is right. 
To do what is love.
I don’t know what that will look like or how it will happen.
But I am encouraged at the outrage on behalf of these children and these families.
Let us rise up.
Let us not stay silent.
Let us love.
Let us sacrifice and be inconvienced.
Let us fight for justice.
Let us pray.
Let us vote.
Let us welcome and care for the stranger as the Bible commands us to do.
For the children. 
For such a time as this.



Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
"Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she
With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"
The new Colossus
Emma Lazarus 1183



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