16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?version=NIV&search=John%203:16
One afternoon, as I was getting in my slowly dilapidated Chrysler Town and County, now with 241,000 miles on it, I decided to test drive a newer car at the local Morrie's automotive group. I was greeted by a young lady who helped me with my test drive. As I drove the car she proceeded to tell me everything about this vehicle I was driving through her smartphone. She asked me about my family and my kids. I shared with her that I had a recently married son. She asked me if I had other children. I shared with her that my wife and I had a daughter who died the first night home from the hospital after her successful surgery at the age of 10.
She shared with me that her family were originally from Bosnia, but had to flee when she was just 2 years old. She remembers living in a refugee camp until they were given the approval to settle in Germany, but not all of her family. Some of her siblings waited before Sweden gave them the green light to migrate there. She has not seen that side of her family. She shared that it was several years before her family was given the approval to come to America. She said that when she was in grade school, she lost her hearing in one ear, but she learned to adapt to hearing out of the other one. I discovered that her beginning life wasn't easy.
I remember another refugee explaining to me that no one wants to leave their homeland, but when war or civil strife breaks out and their lives are threatened they have no choice to leave. Life on the run becomes a traumatizing experience with many encountering decades of nightmares and flashbacks from those experiences.
Right now, I have this glorious image in my head of Jesus Christ with his arms stretched out as those he was reminding us that He died for everyone in this world, including the Bosnians, Syrians, Somalian, and Central American refugees.
As a Christian, I cannot ignore those cries from the mothers and fathers trying to soothe their kids that they will be okay as they sleep in a tent provided by the United Nations as they await word which country they can seek asylum.
I'm proud of living in Minnesota, a state that has done its part to allow immigrant groups to settle and call this place home for the first time since being forced to leave their own.
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