When I read the following words from Henri Nouwen's Reaching Out there is a certain unavoidable resonance within our lives that, "In the midst of a turbulent, often chaotic, life we are called to reach out, with courageous honesty to our innermost self, with relentless care to our fellow human beings, and with increasing prayer to our God." Nouwen was a man whose words we visit often for encouragement and guidance but more than anything else I believe that Nouwen's words are so powerful because they are very telling about humanities core. So much of what Nouwen was saying confronted the naked truth of our insecurities and deficiencies and he suggested that only our Father could heal those pains by calling us his beloved. We are, indeed, his beloved children and yet so many of us go through life with the feeling that we do not belong to a loving Father. Some of us become convinced that, "I am what I do" or, "I am what you say I am" as Nouwen categorizes and these are our daily realities; these are our truths. As much as we are going to this new place wholly as learners, in a way we are going to breath that highly subversive truth into the lives of others; that truth that says: you are beloved.
Perhaps it is no subtle coincidence that on the eve of our journey there have been unparalleled developments towards peace. An ethnic civil war that has raged for the last 27 years between the Sinhalese government and a separatist group named the "Tamil Tigers," has come to an end. While the end of the war came by the means of brute force and the conflict is, by no means, resolved, it is nonetheless a milestone. I do not mean to suggest that God abated these warring tides specifically for the two of us be allowed entrance, but there is a certain remarkable characteristic that for years Rylee has been longing to go, then we finally settle a date-months ago and a month before we are to leave the war ostensibly ends. I will tell you: there is no timing like the Lord's timing; there is no foresight like the Lord's foresight and there is no sovereignty like the Lord's sovereignty.
Over the past year we have had the distinct journey of leading a group of junior highers and high schoolers; an experience that has proven to be transformative beyond measure. During our time at Pathways church, we have underestimated the movement of working with these young people, some of which are going through the most challenging and life-altering moments ever imaginable. One of these junior highers who has proven to be a remarkably passionate and faithful young follower asked us one Sunday who had won the war. We did our best to explain some of the complexities of this conflict but we concluded with the point that we believe that: in war, there are no winners. This point, while politically disputable for some, is a question that we believe every God-fearing individual should ask themselves at some point in their lifetime. Really the question is one of allegiances; an allegiance to political affiliation, to country, to possession or to the Son of Man. If the Son of Man truly was the Prince of Peace and if He truly was dedicated to breathing life into others than we must intentionally take a stance that is against the use of arms in concluding any conflict. It is this stance that guides us to the former battlegrounds of Sri Lanka in order to partake in whatever it is that the people of Sri Lanka have for us.
So, like I've said, we are going as learners. We want to learn from the people: the mothers, brothers, sisters and children. We want to find out what Sri Lanka is from them-through their stories. Our goal is to embark as humble servants-fully at the disposal of the people and their needs. We want to go and breath grace and truth by sharing the identity of all believers that is: beloved.
