March 31, 2003

La Guerra

I hear the sound of an airplane and look up at the morning sky, just turning shades of pink in the west, and see a small plane, probably a cropduster or perhaps a plane carrying a plantation owner to his plantation. I think of the women of Iraq. They hear the sound of airplanes and look up at the same morning sky and see huge aircraft carrying bombs to drop destruction and death on their town.

I hear the sound of thunder off in the distance. I look up at the late afternoon sky and see the lightening flash and feel the first welcome drops of rainfall. The rainy season is slowly creeping its way into Guatemala and this dry, dusty land, animals, crops and people offer a prayer of thanksgiving to God. I think of the children of Iraq. They hear not the sound of thunder, but the sounds of bombs, missiles, and sirens. They see not flashes of lightening, but flames from the fires and smoke rising toward the heavens that is destroying centuries-old buildings in their city. They offer a prayer to God to protect them, their families, their country.

I look up at the nighttime sky, darkness is beginning to cover the land, clouds swirl around offering an occasional glimpse of the stars, the moon. I give thanks for the quiet and peace that surrounds me in this moment. I think of the people of Iraq, living beneath this same moon and stars, people who like me long to live in peace, a people and land my country is destroying.

However much I would like to deny the reality, I have a part, however small, in this destruction and death. What can I do? Pray for an end to this madness. Cry with brothers and sisters around the world. Put a light in my window as a tiny symbol of my protest against this war. Share my thoughts of grief with you.

Ellen Dozier

The 2003 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, page 244.