April 19, 2004

Don’t Abandon Me

Dear Friends,

Put yourself in Jesus’s shoes. You’ve been on earth about 33 years and you know that for you the end is near. You pray to God the Father asking “Isn’t there another way?” You feel like running away, hiding, delaying this whole ordeal but “Thy will be done.” This is going to hurt, to be brutal, but at least I have my friends and followers, the disciples. They will stand by me, keep watch with me, pray with me in the garden. But instead they abandon me—sleeping, running, denying. Except for my Father in heaven, I am alone. I have been abandoned.

In yesterday’s newspaper, three baby girls had been abandoned in the state of Quiche. One was found under a bus, one left in a car, and a sad one-year old was left in the street by her intoxicated mother. Occasionally, babies are left on the steps of churches or hospitals. They are abandoned by their mothers.

A young pregnant woman was beaten by her father until she had a cerebral hemorrhage. Her father is a pastor and an active member in his church organization. The girl’s boyfriend ran away. Two days later the baby was born and the mother died. The woman was abandoned by her boyfriend and her pastor father. The new baby has neither a mother nor a father.

The peace accords for Guatemala were signed in the mid 1990s. Until recently, they too had been abandoned. The war left open wounds from thousands of unjust murders. If the peace accords are brought to fruition the healing can begin, and the people can have hope and faith in their country and government.

These are cases of abandonment at its worst. We would say we would never do such things. But what about less obvious, less severe cases? Have we stepped away from a friend who needs a shoulder to cry on, or one who needs a gift or a loan of money? Have we shied away from someone because they seem to be a little “dizzy” of late? Have we turned our eyes away from the poor, mentally ill, spiritually ill, or uneducated because they might make us uncomfortable, might embarrass us, or might ask something of us? Even less obvious, we fail to call, write, or email a friend saying “Oh, she has lots of friends. She doesn’t need me.” We fail to realize that no matter how many friends she has, we are special to her just because of who we are. We can’t be replaced, so we shouldn’t take it lightly. Just overlooking folks is a form of abandonment. Sometimes I feel abandoned. Maybe you do too.

Gloria Marriott

The 2004 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 133