I cannot seem to get over the story of these two men, or those of hundreds of other Rwandans. Their expressions are overwhelming and from this photo alone, I feel that I learn a valuable lesson about the ability of a human to have a holy heart. This is certainly not a scene that you could fake. Could you stand next to the killer of your brother in a comfortable and loving embrace, holding his hand, smiling... and see the once-a-killer at your side... flooded with peace and relief? I find it so incredible and humbling, that those who lost their family members, now are so happy to allow those attackers forgiveness and peace. Jimmy Cowart traveled to Rwanda and reports these stories of a nation and people that know what it means to lose, to suffer, to heal, and to forgive:
It helps me think a bit more about my own heart. Am I patient with people? Do I remember that my forgiveness is linked to their repentance? The article talks about how those involved in the genocide did not feel at peace until they knew they were forgiven. Really, I think in our society we make people resent themselves because we emphasize their little errors and inconveniences. Cowart talks of how we seethe when someone takes our parking spot or a waitress is delayed in filling out drink. And I think... we aren't always so discrete about our frustration. Often the scene is us not leaving a tip, flipping the bird, or complaining loudly so they can hear. Instantly a person's unintended error or inconvenience has become the mark on their day that reminds them that they aren't cutting it. I wish I could be like these two men in the photo, Innocence and Gespard. I wish I could be the person to put my arm around my brother's killer and bring him back from a lonely place. I can't make that promise when I haven't been in Gespard's shoes... but I think I can start with reminders to have a little more compassion for the people in my everyday encounters.
I wasn't sure if I really wanted to post this so I held on to it awhile and just stored it away, but I don't know... I kind of like it. There some heavy stuff in it; it gets a little graphic. There are some scenes of animal abuse. That is something that is not okay in my book .. it shouldn't be okay in anybody's book, really. Yes... I judge you by how you treat animals. If you can disconnect from their feelings (the animals), then you probably will disconnect from mine and not have a difficult time dehumanizing people. Fact, I really don't like spiders. It's completely involuntary... and I wish I wasn't so girly in this way... but they terrify me to be completely honest. It's not quite Ron Weasley status, but there was a time when my dad asked me to mow the grass in the mass of eucalyptus trees at his house. I got about halfway down into the thick of those trees, looked up and realized that I was practically encased in a bubble of spider houses... with lots of large spider residents. At that point... my body froze and I maybe struggled to breath a little bit... Until I let out that humiliating shriek of terror. My dad, expecting me to have chopped off my hand on the blade or something... was a little disappointed when he had to usher me out of the orchard and bring me back to life, so to speak. I have since learned to control my terror in those instances when I encounter the arachnid kind, but they still evoke the fight or flight adrenalin pretty quickly. Though, I would love to end the confrontation as quickly as possible and fight my way out of there (i.e. squash that sucker), at the same time, I can't bring myself to kill them, ever.. I guess on grounds of infestation I would rethink my policy. It bothers me that I would find it permissible to kill them just because they are smaller than I am... and I can't really see their face... and they have more legs than I do. I'm no psychic or traveler into the minds of spiders... but I know very well that the little guys have feelings because I see them get scared when you trap them in a cup or go at them with a newspaper. So if a spider is worth treating with a care... our bovine friends and all the others deserve a little TLC. Too far... I know... I'm a freak who just wrote a short essay/opinion piece on Spider Rights!
I think I should take a moment to address humanity to balance out my rant. I like how the film shows the ills of life and how we went from simple cave painters to all these advancements in relationships, for good and for bad. Now.. I don't want to say that cave men were Eden-esque people... I'm sure they had their off days, domestic disputes, tempers and what have you... If they had guns or bombs... maybe they would be out blasting each others horse/bison/antelope paintings to bits. I think one reason that there is so much conflict is because we can't tell the difference between Heaven and Hell half the time. Of course humanity has its obvious moments of self-indulgence sin or heroism, an at those times the distinction seems rather clear. However... sometimes one man's hero is another man's villain. One man's holy mission is another man's threat of evil. In defense of your rights, you might interfere with the rights of another. I'm not saying there is no distinction between light and dark. I'm saying God knows the difference, but humans often do not. And even when people insist they're acting under His direction... it seems that they all end up pursing very different things. I think of Israel and Palestine, where both have been wronged (I would say one side much more than the other, but that is neither here nor there for the moment...) and both have conflicting interests. They both consider their agendas to be honorable and right, but they manage to be in complete opposition of each other. It leads me to believe that maybe we don't know the difference between heaven and hell as much as we think.
Over time, there has been innumerable losses and injustices. Today, there are a lot of people that we wish were here. Different disasters have claimed people in our lives or stages of our lives, but there is a lot of beauty in the redemption and revival after a loss. I've been researching the Rwandan genocide and the nation's recovery from that trauma. You would never wish such an experience on anyone and there certainly are hundreds of thousands of people that we wish were here. However, the demonstration of love and healing in the country after the civil war is incredible. Their general ability to forgive is a standard for the world. I hope those people who lost their lives during the conflict can see how their people continue to "redeem themselves", as one Rwandan woman put it. I'm sure that while wrapped up in the violence and chaos, they didn't expect for Rwanda to be recovering like it is today or for peace to ever be restored. But I guess it shows that whether our world is being chopped down, blown up or ran out... our world still has a future. It can recover and it can produce good again, maybe even something better. I worry sometimes that those whom are targets of crimes and violence forget their own humanity. I don't know which is worse, to not recognize your own worth and humanity or not recognize another person's. They both seem pretty damaging in their own ways. It means a lot to see these people reestablishing worth at both ends.
This is just a little clip of Rwanda today and an example of the people's ability to forgive.
Jonny always plays this song... and he plays it pretty well I might add. I don't know if I listened to the song and I missed him or if I missed him so I listened to the song. The ol' chicken and the egg scenario. But all I can say is January can't come fast enough. Soon enough a blizzard will blow that boy back into town and this place wont seem so half-empty no more. Until then, I'll be saving your seat in Provo.
Do you think they wrote this after watching a marathon of Boy Meets World? And... someone needs to tell me how they got that cotton candy out in dem woods...
