sticks and stones

this post started out as an instagram post, but then it became too lengthy and emotional, so i opted for the blog...since my readership is pretty tiny anyway.

brennan and i saw Unbroken at the dollar theatre tonight.  There were many moments during the movie when I felt like crying, but it wasn't until we were in the parking lot that the waterfall started...I guess it just took a while to collect my thoughts and allow my emotions to reconcile with them.  Not just from the movie, but these last two weeks.

i began working at an elementary school last week.  it is on the west side of columbus, near the projects...westside...inner city.  breakfast and lunch are free for all students in our district.  they cancel school any time it gets below zero because some kids just don't have coats and can't walk to school in that weather.  and the way the teachers treat the students, the way the students behave, the atmosphere there--it is unlike any elementary school i have ever stepped foot in.  i have students who have 11 siblings all living in one apartment together.  i have a little second grader who came to the U.S. just a month ago with her mom and siblings to get away from their abusive father.  i have a fourth grader whose father shot himself.  these tiny, innocent humans are having to deal with some heavy stuff.  in the mornings i have cafeteria duty, so i watch them come in and get their breakfast.  sometimes i observe their demeanor and some of them just look weary.

between that, the stuff i hear/read on the news everyday, and the movie, i've spent quite a bit of time thinking about suffering.  it breaks my heart that we live in a world where humans cause other humans to suffer in such profound ways.  sticks and stones (illness, accidents, and disasters) may break the bones, but the way we treat others, that can really kill the human spirit.  so, through all this learning, observing, thinking, and feeling, i've decided i never want to be the cause of someone else's spiritual suffering.  i want to be a little kinder and a little more generous to everyone around me.

Luke 10:33-34

But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him,

 And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.