day and night, dark and light.

today at work we had two people from the Congo come for meetings. during the lunch hour they shared in the board room about the situation in the Congo and their work as part of the church.

i know that my heart is easily moved, but it amazed me still that hearing stories second hand almost brought me to tears. to hear of gang rapes, non-selective violence and devastating corruption was overwhelming. our world is so sick.

things like this often tempt me into feeling like there's nothing i can do and that hope is impossible to find. but the paradox is that based on my claim to be following Jesus as well as the practical reality that if we all give up then things will never get better, this hopelessness cannot take root.

sometimes i have really prideful moments when i think i'm making such a good impact in the world, and then i hear about this and i'm put in my place with a startling force. this is not to say that i think my impact is nothing, but it is certainly not all i could be doing and certainly not something to brag about.

my thoughts are jumbled. in summary, i would like to more clearly figure out my role in the world and fully live out my potential to be a light rather than a shadow.