Does Anybody See Them, Does Anybody Care?
It wasn’t the first time we had seen one, and it won’t be the last.
We were at the animal protection shelter, which operates much like the Humane Society in the states. The shelter is located in a neighborhood that is just a block from our apartment building. We have heard a lot about this neighborhood and many of our poorest friends live in it. It wasn’t until we went on a search for a cat for our grandson, Nathan, that we actually got a real feel of the conditions of the area. There is a little church there that we minister in and a little grocery store that one of our friends own in this neighborhood, but other than for those purposes, we have stayed out of the district so far.
As we were nearing the animal protection shelter, we began to realize, and to feel, the oppression and the darkness of this place. We instructed Nathan not to open his mouth and speak English when we stepped out of the taxi.
We finished our business in the shelter and stepped outside to catch another taxi for our ride home. We quickly became very aware of all that was going on around us. People were looking and it didn’t seem like a taxi would be coming any time soon. We decided to walk to a more traveled street a block and a half away to catch a taxi. As we made our way along the sidewalk, we were very uncomfortable and the darkness seemed to envelop us with a spongy, murky grip. We reminded Nathan not to speak out loud in English and to stay close to us.
We rounded the corner and noticed a woman standing in the street. She seemed not to notice the cars streaming by her. We saw she had one pant leg tied around her ankle and with that foot, she was stepping, stepping, stepping. But with each step, she was drawing her foot back to its original position so she was not really going anywhere. She was staying in the same spot. At first we thought she just couldn’t make up her mind whether to cross the street or not. We hurried past her. After what seemed like too long to get where we needed to get, we found a spot where we could flag down a taxi. Christine was looking back and the lady who was stepping, stepping, but not going anywhere came around the corner, still walking in the street. It was then we realized the sad, disturbing truth.
She was not middle aged as we initially assumed by the way she looked from the back and side. She was a young lady we guessed about 24 or so. She was walking toward us with a bag to her face, covering her nose and mouth. She was huffing paint or some other vile chemical. As she approached us she would stop every few paces and do the step, step, stepping that she was doing when we first spotted her. As she passed, we were getting into the taxi. Christine looked into her eyes when she was about two feet away. Empty, dark, alone, we were reminded of the song Does Anybody Hear Her, by Casting Crowns.
She is running
A hundred miles an hour in the wrong direction.
She is trying
But the canyon’s ever widening
the depths of her cold heart.
So she sets out on another misadventure just to find
She’s another two years older
And she’s three more steps behind.
Does anybody hear her?
Can anybody see?
Or does anybody even know she’s going down today?
Under the shadow of our steeple
With all the lost and lonely people
Searching for the hope that’s tucked away in you and me.
Does anybody hear her?
Can anybody see?
She is yearning
For shelter and affection
That she never found at home.
She is searching
For a hero to ride in
To ride in and save the day.
And in walks her prince charming
And he knows just what to say.
Momentary lapse of reason
And she gives herself away.
If judgment looms under every steeple
If lofty glances from lofty people
Can’t see past her scarlet letter
And we never even met her.
As I said, it wasn’t the first time we had seen one, a lost soul falling quickly into the black abyss of hopelessness and despair, trapped in the clutches of drug addiction, prostitution, or one of the many other forms of virtual slavery lurking in this third world nation. Or perhaps the more subtle grips of climbing the corporate ladder, complacency, piety. We all see them in the mass of humanity that we interact with daily.
The image of this young lady that is forever etched on our memory haunts us. She is hopelessly and desperately lost. Though sights like this are blatantly visible here, we are painfully aware of the lostness of so many people. Besides it being the will of God, it is absolutely necessary to preach the Gospel to all who have not heard. Romans 10:14 has this to say:
How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher?
The truth is that we live in a place where religion is everywhere. If religion is so strongly present in such a place, then why are there so many people drowning in a sea of dread and turmoil. Religion talks, love is action. 1 Corinthians 4:20 says:
God’s Way is not a matter of mere talk; it’s an empowered life. (The Messaage)
The sad thing that day when we were looking for a cat is that we hustled out of that neighborhood as fast and as inconspicuously as possible. We left without telling one person about the hope of salvation through Jesus Christ. Though we have the language barrier against us presently, what about those times when there are no barriers?
How many times have we been like what the song above says…
If judgment looming under every steeple; If lofty glances from lofty people; Can’t see past her scarlet letter; and we never even met her.
God’s people have in themselves what the world is looking for. Let us loosen the cork of our wineskin and let the new wine of the Spirit of God be poured out so the world can hear and be saved. They are out there beyond the walls of our church buildings waiting, searching, longing for the salvation we have to share with them. They are where we can see them. They are everywhere. They aren’t going anywhere.