Benefit of the Doubt: Mel Gibson vs Heredi

I found it very interesting that the People of the Second Chance chose Mel Gibson as their latest Never Beyond Poster Series choice… but after all the controversy that he’s caused, not so surprising.

His first movie, Passion of the Christ caused a large uprising of emotions, followed by his anti-semantic rants which made him a complete outcast around here…. Israel that is.

Yes, I live in the one country that probably hates him the most.

And to be honest with you, most of that hatred comes from one particular group… the Ultra Orthodox Jews (Heredi).

His new movie, the story about Judah Maccabee, has only outraged them even more, and to say there is no love lost between Mel and the Heredi is an understatement.  Sadly, second Chances are NO WHERE to be found on this side of the ocean.

Which leads me to my question of  “Who do I struggle to give a Second Chance to?”

…and the answer ironically is: them. The Heredi…

Living in Israel, I have seen and experienced first hand the struggle to love and show grace to this group of people.  The very same ones who are furious with Mel for his bigotry and hate-filled Jewish comments repeat the pattern by showing bigotry and hate-filled comments about various groups outside of the Orthodox Community.  I have seen countless videos, news reports, and with with my own eyes have witnessed the wrath of the Heredi.

So what makes Mel’s bigotry any different than the Heredi’s? Is his hatred any different than theirs? Should I give them the benefit of the doubt when they are throwing their stones?

Although I struggle in showing them love and grace, I know I must.  HE sacrificed everything not only for me, but for them.

Especially for them. and for Mel too.

So, they both deserve a second chance. And a third, and a fourth, and a fifth…..  Because how many more chances have I received from HIM!?!

My Israel

This morning on my bus I saw a beautiful thing….

A woman from Ghana and her 2 year old son got on the bus and sat down next to a group of soldiers.  The little boy was coughing and obviously a bit sick and the woman was doing the best she could to comfort him.

One of the soldiers asked her where she was from (in English, figuring she probably didn’t speak much Hebrew).  She told him Ghana and he began speaking to her and her son… asking questions like, how old are you, how long have you been here etc. You could tell he was really good with kids, and kept talking with the little boy, trying to get him to smile.

After a couple minutes he pulled out of his backpack a bag of chips and gave it to the boy.  It was obvious by the boy’s reaction that he was beyond thrilled!  He even offered a chip back to the soldier (which was the cutest thing).

As I sat on the other side of the isle, watching this entire interaction, I thought to myself, “This is the Israel I know.”

Not the Israel, who takes the blame for almost everything negative happening in this region from the media-bashing…

Not the Israel, which is made to look like anti-Palestine monsters…

Not the Israel, who groups love to protest, even though most of them have never actually have been here themselves…

But, My Israel.  The Israel I know and love.  The Israel where you see real people doing loving things each and every day.

The Israel where you see Soldiers giving refugee kids chips on the bus….

The Israel where you see Israeli Doctors giving new hearts to neighboring Arab children, who cannot receive help from their own countries….

The Israel that sends a medical rescue team to every natural disaster in the world….

The Israel that continues to send tons of food, water, and supplies into the very same region that sends missiles into their country daily….

You might never hear about My Israel in the news, but that doesn’t mean that it doesn’t exist…. because I see it each and every day!

Are You Out There?

We’re inundated with it since childhood, the concept of true love.

Snow White sings, “Someday my Prince will come”…

Cinderella is rescued by her Prince Charming and lives happily ever after….

Even Sleeping beauty’s Prince appears from her dream world into reality to wake her…

And we wonder why as little girls we grow up with the concept of finding our one true love.

The truth is that I think I used to believe in it too.  Its been so long, and I will admit that after broken relationships I’ve become a little jaded about the concept of “one true love”.  At this point I’m just wondering if there is even someone compatible out there for me.

I’ve been told endless times that God has the perfect one for me, and as much as I want to believe it, the truth is that I just don’t know if I do.  Maybe my faith is running low.  Maybe doubts have taken over.  Maybe I’ve lived in the fallen world too long…or maybe its all three.  I struggle with that statement everyday that passes.

So, I will end this post with the question I proposed in the title:

Are You Out There?

Capturing Moments: A Mothers Love

My friend, K, sent me an email yesterday with 29 Pictures of the Year from National Geographic.  They were all AMAZING, of coarse, but these just really got me.  How ADORABLE is this:

Relationships are hard!

Friendships, dating, marriage, family, or whatever kind they are there is one thing in common…..

Relationships are hard!

It seems like now matter how difficult it becomes or whatever pain they have caused, we seem to continue to dive back into them.  Sometimes I ask myself, “why?”  Why do I continue to trust after someone has betrayed it?  Why do I continue to love after someone has broken my heart?  Why do I continue to put faith in others when they have let me down?  Why do I continue to place hope in finding the someone I will spend the rest of my life with, when none in the past have?

Why? Why? Why?

For me it all comes down to this…we were created to be relational.  We were created to have people  in our lives even when we don’t think we want it.  We created for each other…to live, laugh and love. 

So, when I feel like giving up…..when I feel like letting go…..when I feel like casting aside, I need to remember that relationships are hard, but they are worth it.  

I am so grateful for all of you who continue to read my thoughts and rants, who comment and show me love, and for all the relationships I have gained throughout my life!!!  Even though most all of you are far away in distance, you are close in my heart ❤

Confessions of a Broken Heart

There are certain topics that I have purposely avoided writing about, one of them being issues of the heart. I tend to stick to surface subjects, occasionally putting something out there once in a while.  Today I have decided to delve right in.

I recently had an old wound re-opened, which made me realize it hadn’t been completely, 100% healed.  Its been some time now since I’ve even had contact with him (being all the way across the world helped with that), and sometimes distance can be such a blessing.  But, here’s the thing: distance doesn’t mend a broken heart, it only distracts the pain.  

There was a ting of heartache, re-living past memories that were brought up; then all of a sudden there was this amazing moment when I realized what my life would have been had I chose that path.  No Africa… no Israel… no obeying the true calling God has placed on my life… and all of a sudden that ting was replaced with the most incredible warmth, which can only be described as a mended heart.

This is not to say that I don’t go through spurts of loneliness or tings, but knowing that I’m living in the will of God helps to strengthen me when they come.  Yes, I do want to fall in love, get married, and have a family, and sometimes I wish it would happen like, yesterday… but I know that God’s timing is perfect, and I must trust and wait for Him.

Look at me….I’m growing

Tough Love

One aspect of life I struggle with is unconditional love, or more specifically showing that type of love.  Being back home, I am seeing first hand the issues my parents have been going through with my younger brother and sister. Its easy to love family when you are miles away and across the world; prayer is really the only thing you can actively do.  When you are in the mix of it though, its a bit different.  Its so frustrating to look at the lifestyle my younger sister is living, when I disapprove of so much of what she does.  I get so upset and angry at the choices she makes, knowing how it can affect her present and future.  If I try to say anything to her, she gets mad, defensive, and yells back.  If I say nothing, I feel like I’m not doing my sisterly duty of trying to reach her.  Its rough.  A huge part of me likes living so far away, so I don’t have to get involved…but while I’m here, how do I show love to her?  Its the question that brings so much controversy into many debates today: How do you show love to the person without condoning the particular behavior?  Its something I’m trying to come to grips with.