Monday, September 07, 2015
...let there be a springtime of peace.
Niamh has a wonderful book of prayers that we dip in and out of. Unlike a lot of books of this nature, it manages to be relevant to what kids are going through (like, prayers about going to school) but without being reductionist or boiling all narrative and mystery down to bland moralising.
Tonight we happened across these two prayers; they seemed so relevant given the current refugee crisis, these cries of lament and hope.
Where the bombs are falling
let there be only rain.
Where the bullets are whistling
let there be only wind.
Where war has left the land bleak and bare
let there be a springtime of peace.
Lord, watch over refugees:
tired feet aching.
Help them bear their heavy loads:
bent backs breaking.
May they find a place of rest:
no fears awake them.
May you always be their guide:
never forsake them.
From: God Bless Me: A Child's Prayer Book (Lion: 2001)
In a similar vein, while in the library, I came across a brilliant book: Azzi In Between by Sarah Garland (FL: 2012). It has been out a few years now, but new to me. It is a compassionate comic book style story about a refugee girl called Azzi. It not only tells the story about why and how she and her family fled war, but (crucially, imo) tells the story as she struggles to make a new life in a strange country. I think it would help young readers to empathise with refugees and also shows how small acts of kindness, hospitality, and friendship can make such a huge difference to the refugees living amongst us. It was a bit beyond Niamh and she looked a bit confused as I struggled to read it through tears! I guessing that kids aged 7+ will get the most out of this one.
Tonight we happened across these two prayers; they seemed so relevant given the current refugee crisis, these cries of lament and hope.
~*~
Where the bombs are falling
let there be only rain.
Where the bullets are whistling
let there be only wind.
Where war has left the land bleak and bare
let there be a springtime of peace.
~*~
Lord, watch over refugees:
tired feet aching.
Help them bear their heavy loads:
bent backs breaking.
May they find a place of rest:
no fears awake them.
May you always be their guide:
never forsake them.
From: God Bless Me: A Child's Prayer Book (Lion: 2001)
In a similar vein, while in the library, I came across a brilliant book: Azzi In Between by Sarah Garland (FL: 2012). It has been out a few years now, but new to me. It is a compassionate comic book style story about a refugee girl called Azzi. It not only tells the story about why and how she and her family fled war, but (crucially, imo) tells the story as she struggles to make a new life in a strange country. I think it would help young readers to empathise with refugees and also shows how small acts of kindness, hospitality, and friendship can make such a huge difference to the refugees living amongst us. It was a bit beyond Niamh and she looked a bit confused as I struggled to read it through tears! I guessing that kids aged 7+ will get the most out of this one.
~*~
Who wasn't disturbed by the picture of Aylan Kurdi lying dead on the beach? I could barely bring myself to look at it. While in Greece, I heard stories regularly of people, and of course children, dying in the Mediterranean. The scale of the current crisis is unprecedented, but in many ways, it's nothing new. I don't know about other people who work with refugees, but I can recognise a story as tragic, but I can keep my emotions at bay. Maybe I'm calloused at times or just don't have the emotional facility to take in all the stories of human tragedy. I was a confused why the picture of Aylan disturbed me so much. Why this in particular? The other night Shane woke with a cough, a cry, and he needed comforted back to sleep. As I looked at him there, drifting off to sleep again, it struck me that he was lying in the same position as Aylan. Maybe part of it is that in the photo, we can't see his face. It makes in personal: he looks like my child, or he could be anybody's child. Here, the tragedy isn't so removed. I'm forced to consider: what if that was my child? Upon seeing the image, empathy hits like a devastating wave.
Lord, may you always be their guide, never forsake them.
P.
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