For Gaza

Where do I start?
There are no words.
There are always numbers:
375 Palestinians killed in Gaza…and the death count continues to rise…
1,720 Palestinians have been injured

…and how is one to heal when they do not allow medical supplies or doctors through the border?…and when they're bombing the medical supply centers and pharmacies that do exist?…and the tunnels, that might have been used to bring in new supplies.

Part of me is afraid to say this. Negative thinking is not helpful. I should say "Israel will stop the bombing and everyone in Gaza will heal."

Yesterday, I tried to pray. I don't really know how, so I opted for creative visualization. It was hard to picture Gaza without war. I realized that I have never seen it portrayed, except in times of war. I thought about how sad this is. There was a battle of images within my brain: hope vs. the-current-reality. Hope eventually prevailed. If only this were true in real life.

In Bethlehem, they canceled Christmas to mourn the attacks. If you are Christian and you read my blog, please-please-please convey this powerful piece of information to your families. There are usually lights in front of the barn where Jesus was (according to Christian doctrine) born. This Christmas, they turned them off. In Palestine, Christians do not celebrate on the 25th of December but in the beginning of January…if I remember correctly, it's the 7th, but I could be off by a few days, I'm not sure. They plan to keep the lights off for the local Christmas celebration as well.

I feel desperate. Helpless. Hopefully not hopeless, because then what's the point?
I remember this feeling from the beginning of the Iraq war. I hope this one doesn't last as long. I really, really, hope it doesn't. I guess that means I'm not hopeless after all.
This is a good thing.
I'm glad I found one good thing.