A New Perspective

An excerpt from my journal.

June 16, 2008

Tuesday I spent the afternoon 

at the Holocaust  museum.  I was emotionally and physically drained after spending three and a half hours reading and watching everything I could see.  By the end of the exhibit, my eyes were hurting and my brain was on overload.  Most of all, my heart was hurting as I tried to internalize the hurt and neglect so many people faced in the 1930’s.  I don’t even know how to put into words what I experienced that day.  However, I will never forget the moment I walked into the Hall of Remembrance.

When I finally got to then end of the exhibit, I walked into a memorial room where you could light candles in memory of those who passed away.  Old Testament verses were written on the walls.  The room was well lit.  If I had to use one color to describe it, it would be white.  You see, the entire exhibit, all three floors, is dimly lit.  Only the things you need to read or see have lighting. It’s very solemn.  I felt the pain and darkness.  But once you walked into this room at then end, it was like it really was the end... like the bright light you see at the end of life.  That’s what it felt like, as if we were finally out of the darkness and in the light.  It’s symbolic of my journey through the maze- now I see the “light.”  Injustice and suffering is all around us.  I can’t sit back and allow something like that happen to anyone, especially after all that I have seen.  When I walked into the bright room, I just lost it in tears.  I wasn’t emotional until that moment.  I felt ashamed, sorrow, and embarrassment.  I was mad and wanted to shout at the top of my lungs, “how did this happen?”  That moment was a life changing one.  I realized that I CAN’T sit back and be complacent.  I have to make a difference because if I don’t act on what I’ve seen, WHO WILL? 

I journeyed home and thought about all that I had seen.  I thought about my life and my purpose here.  Life is much bigger than I thought.  I can’t be selfish and live for myself.  I have to seek change.  I have to encourage others to do the same.   I want to make a difference and work for good.  I want others to know the love of Christ as I help work to make injustice and poverty history.

"The next time you see injustice, think about what you saw.  The next time you witness hatred, think about what you saw.  The next time you hear about genocide, think about what you saw."