India. Oh boy, where do I begin?
Let’s start with the noise. Taxis, motorbikes, autos, and rickshaws honking and screeching. The dull roar of millions of people living.
India smells like dirt and sweat and car exhaust. Animal dung and urine from public bathrooms. Sweet, sticky incense and Engage cologne.
When you first arrive, it’s easy to be blinded by the poverty. The slum housing that lines the streets. The beggars that extend their hands as you walk by. The children that pull at your clothes as you try your best to avoid their eyes.
India reminds me of a woman. A woman who’s witnessed thousands of years of change and tradition. A woman who’s been abused and abandoned by history. A woman who, despite her scars and rough edges, is achingly beautiful. In the slums, the houses are painted pink and blue and yellow. Ropes of laundry crisscross the narrow pathways and makeshift bridges cross canals of dingy water.
India has mothered many children, and they, like their mother, are beautiful. They sing and dance and clap their hands. They smile and laugh and tell stories. They invite you into their homes and offer you cups of sweet chai. They ask and listen and lay a hand on your arm.
There were times when I hated India. Times when the reality of hunger and sickness and injustice made me sick. But, there were times when I realized that past the circumstances are people. People who are happy and people who are not. People who are slaves to greed, lust, and pride and people who’ve been freed. People who want a little more and people who have the only gift any of us need.
It sounds like a Christian cop-out, but India showed me that it’s true. The only thing people need is complete, redeeming grace—everything else is a bonus.
You can see two things when you look at India; two pictures of the same situation. You can see a socio-economic disaster that demands money, time, expertise—solutions to problems, and believe me, there are plenty of those. Or you can see people. People who need to be healed of the same lies that once blinded you. People who need to be saved from the same sins that once controlled you. People who are enemies with the same God who now calls you friend.
We don’t need to fix India, we need to free India.
Let’s start with the noise. Taxis, motorbikes, autos, and rickshaws honking and screeching. The dull roar of millions of people living.
India smells like dirt and sweat and car exhaust. Animal dung and urine from public bathrooms. Sweet, sticky incense and Engage cologne.
When you first arrive, it’s easy to be blinded by the poverty. The slum housing that lines the streets. The beggars that extend their hands as you walk by. The children that pull at your clothes as you try your best to avoid their eyes.
India reminds me of a woman. A woman who’s witnessed thousands of years of change and tradition. A woman who’s been abused and abandoned by history. A woman who, despite her scars and rough edges, is achingly beautiful. In the slums, the houses are painted pink and blue and yellow. Ropes of laundry crisscross the narrow pathways and makeshift bridges cross canals of dingy water.
India has mothered many children, and they, like their mother, are beautiful. They sing and dance and clap their hands. They smile and laugh and tell stories. They invite you into their homes and offer you cups of sweet chai. They ask and listen and lay a hand on your arm.
There were times when I hated India. Times when the reality of hunger and sickness and injustice made me sick. But, there were times when I realized that past the circumstances are people. People who are happy and people who are not. People who are slaves to greed, lust, and pride and people who’ve been freed. People who want a little more and people who have the only gift any of us need.
It sounds like a Christian cop-out, but India showed me that it’s true. The only thing people need is complete, redeeming grace—everything else is a bonus.
You can see two things when you look at India; two pictures of the same situation. You can see a socio-economic disaster that demands money, time, expertise—solutions to problems, and believe me, there are plenty of those. Or you can see people. People who need to be healed of the same lies that once blinded you. People who need to be saved from the same sins that once controlled you. People who are enemies with the same God who now calls you friend.
We don’t need to fix India, we need to free India.
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