Where did all the human beings go?

What a crazy world we live in ... I've said it a million times. Lately, I've been trying to understand just what makes it so crazy. I think it can all be boiled down to a lack of humanness. We see celebs and the rich and famous going all out for "humanitarian efforts", but I don't even know the names of my neighbors. It makes me sad when I walk into the grocery, pass someone, and they won't even acknowledge that they have come within a few feet of another human being. We're all suffering here, trying to get from one day to the next without it all falling apart and becoming meaningless. And I must lump myself into the "all", knowing that it is such a frightening thing to put yourself out there and allow yourself to be emotionally touched. Worse is to reach out and find the reception cold. We're all so lonely in this world. Have you seen the emptiness in people's eyes? I wonder at those who know Christ, and still feel such emptiness. Why? I think that God created us for interaction and interdependence. But it has become such a stigma to NEED anyone or anything ... except maybe coffee! What if we were all a little more needy? What if my focus today was reaching out to someone in need? I'm not talking about the person on the corner who is beggin for money. That is a different kind of need. I'm talking about my sons, when they've had a bad day but don't want to show it. It isn't "cool" for a teenager to be effected anymore. Truly, it isn't "cool" for any of us to feel anymore. My question is ... where did all the human beings go? Emotion is a part of our humanness. It is time we used emotion to bring glory to the God who created us.

I'm ready to give this reconnecting thing a try, but there is a flaw. I've always carried my emotions close to the surface. You can hurt me. Anyone can hurt me. I don't like admitting the fragile side, because strength has always been a virtue for me. Maybe weakness, a point where hurt can enter, is not, however, "weakness". Maybe, just maybe, real strength comes from putting the weakness forward, getting slammed over and over again, and being able to keep it all in perspective. Maybe that is true strength. And perhaps the way to keep it all in perspective is to trust in the wisdom God promises ... wise responses to the growth of relationships.

It all sounds good here ... Courage!