Two Worlds Colliding

I sit here on this beautiful Chicago morning looking across the lake at the highrises downtown, while reflecting on and missing the gorgeous West Coast beaches nestled by the Waitākere ranges.

Contemplating. 

Realising. 

There are people, places and things in Chicago I'll never find in Aotearoa. 

There are people, places and things in Aotearoa I'll never find in Chicago. 

It hurts. 

It's painful.

Why can't I be in 2 places at once?

I lament, knowing my whānau is going through the same pain. 

I lament, wishing there would be no separation between friends, family and acquaintances.

I lament, questioning my decisions, knowing I have to live with them.

I lament, seeing well over 50 tents nestled in the Uptown parks, while many neighbors live in luxury.

I lament, knowing many are sleeping in cars and under bridges in Auckland, while many neighbours live in luxury.

I lament, as I watch both governments play with numbers, pretending they're solving a solvable crisis.

I lament, wishing and praying the unhoused could all be housed, in both cities. 

I lament, knowing Chicago and Auckland are just 2 small dots in a giant world that's suffering and struggling and dying.

I lament, wishing freedom upon the 100 Israeli hostages, the 9400 Palestinian captives and the millions of victims of mass incarceration.

I lament, as we watch, and many justify, bodies being torn apart and slaughtered before us in Palestine and Lebanon.

I lament, seeing this beautiful world divided, between the colonised and colonisers, between the enslaved and the slave owners, and between the polarising "us vs them".

I lament, knowing all this is interrelated and I wish I could solve it all, but I realise how small I am and how limited my humanity is. 

I lament. Oh, how I lament, but I can also rejoice! 

In conflict, in lament, I rejoice.

I rejoice, I am not alone, knowing my smallness increases exponentially by standing in solidarity with others.

I rejoice, I am not alone, knowing how collectively our love, compassion and mercy bring change and create a better world.

I rejoice, I am not alone, knowing my faith in the Resurrected Jesus gives me hope in his Kingdom where the first shall be last and the last first! 

I rejoice, I am not alone, knowing “He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble. He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty.”

I rejoice, I am not alone, knowing God sees and loves and elevates victims of oppression and poverty and genocide and war and racism.

I rejoice, I am not alone, knowing the Resurrected Jesus is the great Liberator turning distress into eternal love and peace and freedom.

I rejoice, I am not alone, knowing I am wandering on troublesome paths, yet journeying toward a greater destination.

I rejoice, I am not alone, knowing that any person before me is my neighbour and worthy of my time, compassion and grace.

I rejoice, I am not alone, knowing I can only move one day at a time. 

As I wander the chaotic Uptown streets, I visualise the stunning pōhutukawa trees overlooking the ocean, lamenting the distance, while celebrating how I am welcomed and embraced and have purpose in my two cherished homes.