Friday, February 11, 2011

Dearest God,

I remember so well the little boy and the little girl putting their hands forward to shake ours. They must have been five or six years old. Literally living in the middle of miles of garbage, they stood barefoot, filthy and smiling as they welcomed us to their home in Cairo, Egypt. It was there I learned the true meaning of "poor."

On our trip to the Middle East, we met the Coptics, the first Christians. We heard the story of how your own son was taken to Egypt to save him from slaughter. We listened mesmerized by the ministry of love the Coptics have for those generations of people who have lived and continue to live in what they call Garbage City.

These last 18 days as I watched the protesters calling for freedom in Tahrir Square I thought of those children who by now would be in their twenties but still not recognized as legitimate citizens because of their background. Relegated to the dump because they came from the south, I wonder now what freedoms they will find. Will they be freed too? Will they at long last be given a promise for a better future? Will they be welcomed into society like they welcomed us?

God So Full of Grace,
make us
all free,
not just
some of us.
Help us
to free
one another
in love.
Teach us
the way
of compassion,
then make
us all liberators
remembering that
no one
is higher
or lower
than another.
Instill in us
the truth
that we
are all
brothers and sisters,
children of one God.

Love, Andrea