Seek Justice

this image is not mine - I found it on this blog - thanks to its original creator

After watching an Invisible Children screening recently, I've been thinking about justice,

About all the things in this world that are not fair,

All the inequality,

All the violence,

All the hurt,

All the suffering,

And how little people know.

There is such a lack of awareness of what is going on in this world.

Before I started listening to Sara Groves' music, I had no idea that there are about 27 million slaves in the world today.

Twenty-seven million.

Before I saw an Invisible Children screening last year, I had no idea that there has been a war going on in the area of northern Uganda, Sudan, and the Democratic Republic of Congo for 23 years.

Twenty-three years.

There is so little awareness of just how huge problems like these are.

Why are we not listening?

Why are we not paying attention?

Why do we allow the victims of injustice to remain invisible?

Thinking about all this has got me writing.

(I know, I know.  Big surprise.)

I definitely don't feel qualified to write about justice,

Having experienced so very little of injustice myself.

Then again, I don't feel particularly qualified to write about much of anything,

But I write anyway.

Hopefully this imperfect and unpolished attempt to address the issue of injustice in this world has something good hidden in it,

Something that will speak to people,

Reach to their hearts,

And call them to action.

So, here we are,

The lyrics to my latest song:

Gonna Be Free

Everything's holding me back,
Tying me down,
Trying to make me crack.

No promise has come through yet.
I'm holding out
For a hope fading fast.

Why's it so hard to believe
I'm gonna be free?

I am just starting to learn
That this is my life now,
And, yes, it's gonna burn.

I work so hard to have faith
That someday, somehow
This is all gonna change.

But sometimes I just can't believe
I'm gonna be free.

For all of us here in this place
We fight hard to imagine that someday
Someone will open their eyes
To see through the schemes and the lies.

We pray that someone will find a way
To break through these chains.

Still, it's hard to believe . . .

'Til someone fans the fire
That had grown so dim,
Gives us reason to fully
Hope again.

And we find the courage to sing,
"One day we're gonna be free!"

One day we are gonna be free,
One day the chains will break,
One day we'll live in Jubilee
'Cause one day we're gonna be free!

One day we're gonna be free,
One day we're gonna be free,
And we're all gonna live in Jubilee
'Cause one day we're gonna be free.

One day we're gonna be free.

One day we're gonna be free.

Many thanks to organizations like the International Justice Mission and Invisible Children that are fighting to end injustice.

Also, I can't resist linking to this amazing song arranged by Sara Groves which happens to touch on this very topic.  The story behind the song can be found here.

Again, the bold, italicized words are lyrics to the song "Gonna Be Free" by Mary Schieferstein, ©2011 Mary Schieferstein.