"Come on people now..."

"...If you hear the song I sing
You will understand (listen!)
You hold the key to love and fear
All in your trembling hand
Just one key unlocks them both
It's there at you command

Come on people now
Smile on your brother
Everybody get together
Try to love one another..."
Right now
-Powers

The phone rang at 2:30 in the morning the other night.  Thanks to caller ID I knew it was Hannah's birthmother before I even answered it.  I was grateful for that advance notice.  It gave me the moment I needed to center my heart, and reaffirm for myself the unflagging fact that God was with Hannah wherever she was, whatever she was doing.  I may be 12,000 miles from where she is, but God was infinitely near.

I answered with my heart in His hands.  She must have known that I would be concerned because she immediately said, "Hannah is fine."  I could breathe again. 

"But," she followed, "we are going through a terrible time here." She continued to explain the situation that they were facing in Johannesburg.  A situation that was quickly reaching beyond the city and spreading throughout other regions of South Africa.  Tens of thousands of refugees from other African countries had streamed across her borders seeking sanctuary.  Local Africans fearing loss of jobs, resources, and aid were lashing out violently against those who were there for asylum. 

She was calling for help.  And I wanted nothing more than to be able to catch a flight and be there standing next to her volunteering at the makeshift refugee camps that were popping up in school yards and at police stations, in open fields and under bridges.  But that wasn't what she was asking for. 

"You have a blog, you could tell people what we are facing and what we need…" she offered.  She knew what I could do and she knew what resources I had to offer.  She knew that I, as one small human 12,000 miles away, would be practically useless in the scheme of feeding and caring for 30,000 refugees.  But her sense of my reach was larger.  She reminded me that I have a voice.  I have words.  I could let readers know that there was a grave need for supplies, food, and most importantly, prayers.

Then she asked the question that would take my response to a higher level of peace, "Who do you know…don't you know someone who can help?" 

That was when I really started to feel like there was a practical answer to her call for help.

Yes, I did know someone….I knew God.  I knew my Father-Mother God who had cared for my mother, siblings and I when dad was killed suddenly leaving us in debt, without money and very few options for employment or assistance

I knew this all-loving divine Parent intimately.  I knew His over-arching care in the midst of dispair.  I knew Her comfort when the nights were dark and there was no hope in sight.  I knew the radiance of His warmth filling me from within with love and compassion for my mom, raising my seven younger siblings with only my sister and me as bread-winners.  I knew the strength of His hand in guiding and protecting us.

Yes, I knew someone…I knew the only One who could really help. 

In the last few days I have contacted the American Red Cross, shared the story of South Africa's plight with colleagues, friends, neighbors, and organizations I work with.  I have made calls and written emails.  But these efforts pale in the light of what I know will be the answer. 

To know someone…to really know Him.  To know that She is already there.  She is there in the heart of Hannah's birthmom who leaves her young children each day to go volunteer in a refugee camp.  He is there in the compassion shown by those who are giving their foreign neighbors sanctuary and relief.  He is there in the hands of aid workers bottling water, distributing food, tucking blankets in around the shoulders of nursing mothers weak and tired from days of travel on foot.  She is there nursing children and singing to babies.  She is there.

What can you do….who do you know? 

With hope... 
Kate