I feel tension mounting in the world.
Sadness in my heart.
A plane full of innocent people shot down from the sky and still no answers.
People at war in an area that by all accounts should be considered sacred to so many: Jewish, Christian, Muslim.
The mindless killing isn't just overseas...
Just this spring, a little girl in Springfield, Mo. was playing in her neighborhood when she was kidnapped, defiled, murdered... despite the fact she fought back and neighbors chased that evil man on foot... he had her long enough to extinguish the light within her (on earth).
I keep feeling this great tension growing and growing.
Incredible unrest.
I recently read somewhere that nearly 1 out of 7 incidents where police are trying to apprehend someone ends horribly, which leads me to recent events in my home state.
Just 45 minutes to the east of me for the past few nights, people have taken to the streets to riot and loot because they are angry.
Angry is an understatement.
The FBI is being called in to investigate the source of the anger and outrage.
Tension building to the point of breaking.
Then, I find out a man I have never personally met, but a man who has touched me none the less with his humor and charm and wit ever since he was "Mork"... has apparently killed himself.
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| Thank you Elizabeth with http://www.happylarkdesigns.com for sharing this on facebook. |
I have heard the snickers from callused individuals who have no empathy for mental health issues. I have heard claims it's not a real disease, but it is real.
I have lost former students to it.
I have lost friends and classmates.
I have lost relationships because riding that rollercoaster and trying to care for people in that boat can become too much to endure... because deep down I am not nearly as strong as I like to let on... and I've jumped off that rollercoaster for self-preservation.
Tension... to the point of breaking.
So, tonight - I left.
I didn't hop in my car and drive for hours on some "quest" for peace.
I just cruised to the nearest state park (cheesy, but true).
After I parked "Betty" I decided to walk the campground loop... the first lap all I could hear in my mind was "Yellow" by ColdPlay. So, I photographed "Yellow."
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Look at the stars
Look how they shine for you
And all the things you do
Yeah, they were all Yellow
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I came along
I wrote a song for you
And all the things you do
And it was called "Yellow"
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I took a break...
...to pray, to feel the breeze and a few wayward raindrops, to watch the light, to notice the squirrels above me chomping away on acorns...
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| Prayer Break. The light and the breeze. I had a moment I felt He was listening... |
Lap two. I walked and noticed in a fairly empty campground 4 families set up to camp. Each their own little universe.
Then, I heard them and saw them. A young couple checking in as the sun was going down... talking to the campground host on duty.
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| Two campground hosts at this small park... these guys had a night off! |
I thank God for places for me (and that couple) to retreat to when the tension is mounting, when the world (sin/evil, etc.) becomes too much.
I thank God for blessing me in so many ways.
I thank God that even though the World is often working in a direction that is so far from the teachings of his Son, He is trying to help us keep Good in the World.
On the way home tonight I stopped and picked up some extra boxes of Crayons at Walgreens. Only 39 cents! Not for me, but for our church's Sunday School needs or for Operation Christmas Child (check it out: http://www.samaritanspurse.org/what-we-do/operation-christmas-child) or maybe I'll divide them between the two.
Because, in the end, no matter how bad the world may seem, it's up to Me (if not me, then who?) to try to spread a little Goodness.
Until next time,
Michelle (that's me... the M of MK Designs)
August 2014
LOVE
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