or so I've heard

And this earth is a scary and cold and awful place to be, people will tell you. It's full of nothing but hate and greed and tears.  People are selfish, and people are dishonest, and people will cheat you until after you're dead.  The earth is lost, for the most part.  There are no boundaries, and there is no love, and things are certainly not looking up.

Or so they've said and so they'll say until long after we're all dead and burried in the ground and no one's left to hear them say it anymore. 

But I'm not really sure I believe that-- about this earth being nothing but a black hole of dispair.  In fact, I look at you and your eyes won't let me believe that.  Because at the morningside last week I saw you move so that girl would have a place to sit, before anyone even had time to notice.  And while most kids would be texting, my best friend was taking notes.  Then wyatt offered to take my chair.

I can't believe it because while we were having a sleepover a couple nights ago, she told me, "God knows the way to everyone's heart."  And her faith gave me a little hope that my friend would be ok.

I can't believe it because my sister spent all of yesterday making pies with my mom when I'm pretty sure she could have thought of an excuse like I did.

I can't believe it because I went to seminary and Dalton talked about forgivness and how he said that it was ok.  It was ok that they had broken into his house.  It was ok that they had stollen everything.  It was ok, and he still loved them.  Forgivness like that refuses to let me believe it.

And I heard you crying yesterday, because you don't know how to help her.

And I saw you come to church alone a couple of weeks ago, and even though I know you'd never say it, I can only imagine how hard that would be.

And you told me about how scary it is to do the right thing, but you're going to do it anyway.

This earth is a scary and cold and awful place to be, proabably a lot of the time.  But I see you smile and I hear you pray and I realize there is a lot more to it than that.  People laugh and people grow and people will love you until long after you're dead.  And maybe it's not so much what's on this earth but the way you see it.  And maybe it's not so much what's in this world as it is what you do with it.

It is true, they'll say, people are broken and beaten and alone.  But I'm not so sure I believe that either.  People are compassionate and strong and inherently good.  You are compassionate and strong and inherently good.  And I'm a little sick of people discounting you, because you are the only thing that stops this world from becoming that black hole of dispair they're always talking about. 

Your light is my hope, and I love you for being that.

-Linds