We’ve been in lockdown in my city in Northern Iraq for over week. These last few days I’ve felt both a liar and a failure. A liar because I’ve posted the pretty pictures, not the ones of my dry-eyed stare from watching hours of shows non-stop or the various chocolate wrappers from my I-don’t-care-anymore-and-I’m-bored munching. A failure because I haven’t done anything to make this darkness in the world a little more grey than black. This has been compounded by the nature of social media – people post what they’re proud to show – and I had to remind myself of this.
Then I realized a second thing. These posts of newly inaugurated homeschool moms’ snack baskets and count-the-skittles-graphs, of a dad and his board game day with his kids, of young professionals first attempts at baking bread, of that new from-home-worker’s corner folding table-desk, of artists of various kinds sharing life-giving beauty – all these posts are little victories against the darkness.
That unexpected homeschool mom got something resembling school accomplished with her littles. That dad got time he didn’t think he’d have with his kids. That young professional tried something new, and it worked. That unexpected from-home-worker snatched a bit of normalcy from the chaos. That artist shared from the heart to give us all courage for the journey. These are little flickers of bright hope that remind us sin’s darkness will not be forever.
“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” (John 1:5)
So please, show off that new worksheet, new game, new recipe, new desk, new art project, and I’ll keeping posting pictures of my banana bread. And together we’ll enjoy a taste of the renewing of all things that is to come. Easter is coming.
We’ve heard from our alumni staff that living in Iraq has made this crisis easier to handle! Want to join their ranks and learn to live with joy in uncertainty? Check out our Iraq page!
