After over two weeks of silence, I was all set to sit down and write about my oldest turning 16 . . . about the fact that it hit me the other day that I’m no longer looking at a boy but up to a young man . . . about the tug of war that is parenting a child turning into an adult . . . about letting go again and again and again . . .
And I will write that . . . but not today . . . because today, like so much of the world, my heart is heavy. I sit and watch in complete horror the atrocities being enacted against the nation of Israel. I watch as parents no longer have the blessing of watching their little boys grow into young men and little girls grow into young women. I watch as pure evil robs innocent lives and seeks to utterly destroy the Jewish people. I watch. I’m heartbroken. I look at my children and realize what a privilege it is to see them grow up, and I can’t sit and pretend as if it’s simply just another day. I will not compartmentalize. I will not look away and carry on as usual.
There is a tradition in the Jewish culture when someone passes away called sitting Shiva. “For seven days, the family members of the deceased gather in one location – typically their own home or the home of the deceased – and mourns the loss in a variety of ways.” 1 I could give you endless explanations as to why I support Israel. I could talk about the fact that I believe that they have been and always will be the chosen people of God. I could explain that unlike some, I don’t buy into replacement theology . . . the belief that the Christian church has replaced Israel. I could go on about prophecies and the end of times. And there is a time and place for all of that. Today is not that time. Here is not that place. Today, we sit with those who mourn, if not physically, in spirit. Today is the time to mourn with those who mourn and weep with those who weep. Today is the time to acknowledge the heartbreak and devastation . . . to hold a place for the deep grief and sorrow of the Jewish people. Today is the day to hold them in our hearts . . . to pray for peace and healing of Israel.
We will not look away.
Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. Romans 12:15
Courtney's Contemplations . . . 