A Dream Deferred



Hope deferred makes the heart sick; But desire fulfilled is a tree of life (Proverbs 13:12)

What happens to a dream deferred? These famous lines come from a Langston Hughes poem. However, they have their origin in the Bible. A dream deferred might dry up; it might explode with anger. When I met Vanessa, she was sitting in the gutter waiting for someone to buy her for an hour. In her, I saw a picture of what my might girls might become, if not for intervention. No job; no education; forced to sell themselves simply for something to eat.

But, I am assured that Vanessa did not wake up one morning and decide: I will simply prostitute myself for anything that anyone will give me. I will give up my youthful beauty. I will destroy my health for no better reason than simply I want to do so. No, I believe like every young girl, Vanessa, (and so many of the women in South Africa and most of the world who feel that they have few or any options), had a different dream, a different aspiration, a different hope for their lives. 

But somehow, those dreams got deferred. I believe that God's plan for a hope and future, which He promises all of us in Jeremiah 29:11, is what He fully intends for us to experience. But lack of education, lack of  a good home, lack of parental care, all of things come into destroy the dream that God has.
And so it gets deferred. Poverty defers the dream. A lack of a quality education defers that dream and hope slowly begins to dry up until one is left simply existing, merely taking up space in the universe. Not living out one's God-given potential- not achieving the goals, the end, the future hope that God had originally planned.

So what do we do when we see a dream being deferred? Do we simply shake our heads and say that's rather tragic?  Or do we intervene; do we actually push the pause button on our own dreams, on our own hopes, to help someone get out the gutter and begin to walk into the future and plan God has for them?

Jesus did that for us. He left heaven, its purity, perfection, and glory and came intervened in our hopeless situation. He pushed the pause button for thirty-three years and walked among us. As Emmanuel, He touched our broken places and felt our wounds (Isaiah 9 and 53). In fact, He took our transgressions and infirmities, so that we might have life. He proclaimed in Isaiah 60, that the Spirit of the Sovereign was upon to Him to set at liberty the captives, recover sight to blind, and declare the acceptable year of the Lord. If Jesus pushed the button for more than thirty years, maybe I can push it for a few minutes each day and help a captive walk free.

Pushing the Pause Button,
MJ

Royal Garments

All  glorious within is the princess within her chamber; her gown is interwoven with gold. Psalm 45:13

The kings' daughters were given beautiful garments to wear signifying their purity and virginity- this practice is noted not only in the Psalms but in a searing tale of family misfortune and dysfunction: this is the tale of Tamar.

Unhappily named after the daughter-in-law of Judah, who had to stoop to unscrupulous means to become with child, Tamar, may have known from the beginning that her life would be full of challenges but she probably did not know the cautionary tale of her ancestor would point the finger at a family member- her own brother.

Amnon, the scriptures said, loved his sister. I am sure in his depraved and maddened state, and he believed he did: he became so obsessed with his sister Tamar that he made himself ill. She was a virgin, and it seemed impossible for him to do anything to her.

But after conspiring to rape her, the scriptures say that he hated her more than he had loved her. After he had raped her, Tamar, tore her garments, for she was no longer pure, and had been disgraced. Though she begged her half-brother to ask for her hand in marriage, he refused thus doubling her shame: “No, my brother!” she said to him. “Don’t force me! Such a thing should not be done in Israel! Don’t do this wicked thing.  What about me? Where could I get rid of my disgrace? And what about you? You would be like one of the wicked fools in Israel. Please speak to the king; he will not keep me from being married to you.” But he refused to listen to her, and since he was stronger than she, he raped her" (2 Samuel 13: 12-14).

Yet, the story does not end on the sad note that the Tamar ended her life a desolate woman in the home of her brother Absalom. No, because David did not deal with his family’s issues Absalom’s rage at his sister’s rape burned within he, and he conspired to kill his brother, which he eventually did. This act then led him to flee from David and eventually to try and usurp the kingdom from his father’s hands. Untold heartache fell on David: Tamar’s rape and desolation, Amnon’s murder, and eventually rebellion that led to Absalom’s death as well.

Too many times, we don’t take rape and incest seriously. We don’t see how they tear at the fabric of the nation, destroying families, society, and the nation as a whole, but David’s saga clearly indicates how one family's destruction leads to chaos and death for an entire nation. As in Tamar’s case, there were accomplices; those who aided and abetted Amnon’s frightful conduct. God forbid that I should be one of these- who by cooperation or by silence inflict pain on God’s precious daughters.

Tamar's tale has three parts: first the gift  of the robe. Like Joseph who was given a robe of many colors, (Genesis 37:4; 21-23) Tamar received a robe which signified favor, status, and esteem. Similarly, Jesus received His special robe (John 9:23-25)- one that was a singularly woven piece- one over which the Roman guards would cast lots.

All three suffered disgrace as the robe was torn from their bodies. First, Joseph; then Tamar, and finally Jesus.  Joseph lost his garment to the jealousy of his brothers; Jesus lost his beautiful garment to the ravenous soldiers, and Tamar lost her rich garment as it was ripped form her body. God also clothed Israel in a garment when He found her in the field and put shoes on her feet and made her beautiful.

Hear God's plaintive cry for Israel, whom God characterizes as a woman:
And as for your nativity, in the day you were born your navel was not cut, neither were you washed in water to supple you; you were not salted at all, nor swaddled at all. None  pitied you, to do any of these to you, to have compassion on you; but you were cast out in the open field, to the loathing of your person, in the day that you were born. 6And when I passed by you, and saw you polluted in your own blood, I said to you when you were in your blood, Live; yes, I said to you when you were in your blood, Live. … (Ezekiel 16:4-7).

Ultimately, such stories can end positively with restoration, Joseph was restored. Jesus is coming back wearing a  new robe: Revelations 19:12 and Rev 3:4-5. Let God restore you. I hear Him say that when He found Anene Booysen,  the young colored South African girl, in that field, mutilated and abused, He picked her up and wrapped her in His robe, and took her straight to the judgment seat. She is at His side now;  it’s is enough.

 So will you let him find you in any field and put his robe of righteousness, mercy, grace on you?

A Fitly-Robed Princess of the Most High,
MJ

My Life in South Africa

South Africa is like no other place on earth that I have lived or visited. Since that amounts to over thirty countries in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Caribbean, North and South America, I would say that my experiences are quite significant. In any country where I have lived, I have managed to know the people, making long-term connections, and bond with the culture. I did this by walking the streets, knocking on doors, and greeting people.  Not so in South Africa, there are gates. You must ring the gate to announce who you are. You see, South Africa, at least where I live, in the Western Cape, is a prison state. Everyone lives behind bars, usually with dogs, and security.

To enter most shops, you must buzz to be allowed entry. Every day, there are reports have people held up and robbed in their businesses, so I understand their carefulness. Worcester is known as the Tik, or crack, capital of South Africa and has the leading number of gangs. This seemingly small insignificant town boasts such cold-blood killings that they have made national and international headlines.

So, I walk down the street with mace in my hand because it is common for someone to merely stroll up with a knife and demand your cellphone or anything of value you have. One of my friends was attacked while walking with her son. She had to plead for both of their lives. A typical day in Worcester.

You see, within the the colored community in particular,  most young men are still angry and embittered about the legacy of apartheid. They  are now involved in gangsterism and feel that they are owed something, so they have no qualms about taking it. Just this week, in the supermarket where I shop, a man hid in a lady’s car trunk with the intent of entering her safe zone. You see, once she opened the gate to her house by her remote, locked it, entered her garage and closed it as well by remote, he, with his knife at the ready, would come out, force her into the house, maybe even kill her, and take everything.  But luckily, someone saw him enter the car’s trunk. However, this scenario actually happens every day in South Africa.

This is the world I inhabit. A place where a young girl is subject to attempted rape by a boy of eleven. A place where young men rape, murder, and then pull out the girl’s womb, where a man  sets his girlfriend on fire and she dies from her wounds, where schoolmates kill  a girl and then drink her blood. A place of violence directed every day towards girl children and women, and my friends, it has all but wearied my soul.

The young girl who was almost raped was one of my students.  She is only eleven years, and as she waited to be picked up for dance rehearsal with me, she was lured behind a building and attacked.  It was premeditated. One classmate lured her behind the house, while a second boy waited for her. So, these male children have already mastered the art of finding and hurting females at the tender age of ten and eleven.

I have not even begun to talk about the rampant corruption, greed, and dishonesty in this place. The corruption would make Al Capone blush. But what hurts my heart the most is the constant barrage of abuse and pain leveled at girls and women in this country. It is unconscionable. Nearly every day, some horrific act of violence is broadcasted on the news, and people seemingly are unfazed by it. They continue drinking Rooibos tea and eating biltong.

I feel I am only one person fighting an uphill battle. Yes, there are decent, caring people in South Africa, but I have yet to meet any who are willing in this city to really fight for girls. Plenty talk. I have met none who walk. The kind of suffering that is happening here will take an army of committed people to fight, not one lone American woman. The South African decent men, women, and children must become infuriated at this base behavior, and rise up against it. - A Wounded Warrior,
MJ

 

Big Heads Small Spirits

 At the same time came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them,

And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me. (Matt. 18: 1-4)

The disciples thought they had Jesus and the kingdom all figured out, that is until Jesus threw them a curve ball. If you want to be big and important in the kingdom, you must take the smallest and weakest position. You see Jesus knew that He would defeat evil by becoming as weak and as vulnerable as a child.

As He lay His life down on the cross and submitted to His Father's will, He became the ultimate obedient child. He relinquished His divine rights and settled his human debts when He gave the responsibility of the care of his mother Mary to the beloved disciple John. Hebrews says that Jesus learned obedience by what he suffered: |Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered (Hebrews 5:8).

We are told that no discipline seems pleasant at the time, but it yields a harvest of righteousness for those who are trained by it (Hebrews 12:11). Suffering, hardship, and pain created a lasting legacy of grace for Jesus.  So, we must fix our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God "Hebrews 12:2)

When one is a child, one is subject to those who are more powerful. In Jesus' case, He made Himself of no respect and submitted to death on the cross, despising its shame. He willing submitted himself to those who were in essence weaker.

Children know how to submit to the shameful processes, but not how to keep the shame from being in embedded in their self-concepts. When they are abused, they absorb the negative messages that scream of their lack of worth and value.

Jesus benefited from perfect parenting unlike all of us. Therefore, when the Pharisees bullied him, when his brothers mocked him and called him names, He knew who he really was. If I am to walk like Jesus, I must to be parented by God and know who I am in Him, so that no matter the abuse, I am not shamed by the actions of others or defined by them.

The disciples expected Jesus to establish His kingdom through force, to expel the Roman interlopers, to chase out the two-faced hypocrites, but instead Jesus became a child, meek and humble, but by doing so He destroyed the works of the devil. His innocence provided the key of victory over Satan.
Meek, humble, submissive, and obedient not exactly what the disciples believed the kingdom would be made of-  childlike qualities.


Still learning,
MJ
 

The Kingdom of Heaven: Seen and Heard

When Jesus' disciples tried to quiet and shush the children, they felt Jesus' ire rise. He responded that if they wanted to enter the kingdom of heaven that they must first become like a little child: "Then Jesus said, "Leave the children alone, and don't try to keep them from coming to Me, because the kingdom of heaven is made up of people like this" (Matthew 19:14). What is it about children? Their innocence; their joie- de-vivre. It can be contagious.

I don't think that the disciples meant to be obtuse- it was a cultural thing.The disciples were merely concerned for Christ's very busy schedule. He was in fact a very most auspicious visitor to the earth with an important mission to accomplish. Children are to be seen and not heard. They are to smile and be pretty things. They are to be abused and voiceless.  Jesus responded by telling the disciples that unless they could become like these children, they would not enter the kingdom of heaven.

As we played clapping games and other silly adventures with the girls from Roodewaal, I had but to wonder what home looked like. Would they continue to smile and laugh when they entered their front doors?

I too can become so preoccupied like the disciples that I forget what really matters. Thank goodness Jesus does not. He made time for the children, to chat with them, sit on his lap, and he laid hands on them and blessed them: The people brought children to Jesus, hoping he might touch them.  The disciples shooed them off. But Jesus was irate and let them know it: "Don't push these children away. Don't ever get between them and me. These children are at the very center of life in the kingdom.  Mark this: Unless you accept God's kingdom in the simplicity of a child, you'll never get in." Then, gathering the children up in his arms, he laid his hands of blessing on them" (Mark 10:13-16).

What foresight that some parents had to bring their children to Jesus. How many parents do that today? I don't mean dropping the child off at Sunday School and disappearing, but  to be present as Jesus changes their hearts, as they grew and become the men and women God desires.

Today, I led intercession about violence against girls and women in South Africa. Afterwards, Yuri gave me a word about the cloak that the king’s daughters wore. I knew the scripture to which he was referencing. It too is sad story of abuse, sexual misconduct, incest (2 Samuel 13). It is Tamar’s story; her garment was taken from her by her brother who was inflamed with lust. But I found in this prophetic word that God was telling me that He would restore beauty for ashes and give crowns of gladness instead of mourning. The girls will not be ravished brothers, fathers, and uncles, but be ravished by the beauty of their Prince Jesus. This same Jesus who had time to sit them upon his lap, lay hands on them and bless them, to call them into their divine destinies for their names are already written in the palm of scar-pierced hands. - Still a child at heart, MJ

Resurrection from the Dead

I never thought of myself as person who could or would do miracles, especially raising someone from the grave. But, that is exactly what I have been called to do. I wonder if even Y'Shua experienced a bit of angst when he was called to Jairus' home. There were a lot of people with some heavy expectations. The air was weighty with suspense. Could He? Would He even dare to raise this dead child of the synagogue leader?

Here is how the story  played out:  While Jesus was still speaking, some people came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue leader. “Your daughter is dead,” they said. “Why bother the teacher anymore?”Overhearing what they said, Jesus told him, “Don’t be afraid; just believe.”

He did not let anyone follow him except Peter, James and John the brother of James. When they came to the home of the synagogue leader, Jesus saw a commotion, with people crying and wailing loudly. He went in and said to them, “Why all this commotion and wailing? The child is not dead but asleep.” But they laughed at him.

After he put them all out, he took the child’s father and mother and the disciples who were with him, and went in where the child was.He took her by the hand and said to her, “Talitha koum!” (which means “Little girl, I say to you, get up!”). Immediately the girl stood up and began to walk around (she was twelve years old). At this they were completely astonished. He gave strict orders not to let anyone know about this, and told them to give her something to eat (Mark 5:35-43).

Just like Y'Shua, I was in the middle of my day just living when a crisis of monumental proportions hit. Things were going well for me and Y'Shua. He had just came off the miraculous healing of a women with a bleeding issue for 14 years. In my case, I was the educator of the year and nominated for various awards, when bam, God says sell everything and start over. Leave your home and family all that you have known and builds schools for girls. When you hear this kind of pronouncement you want to make sure it is really God.

Y'Shua had not come for a show, so He simply put the people out of doors and began speaking to the child. Then He grabbed her hand and lifted her from death to life. 
He is asking me to do the same thing. No grand promotion or show, simply call the dead to life in  African girls -girls who have been traumatized beyond belief, abused by kin and foe, but somehow hoping to live again. They are waiting for someone to say, "Arise, walk."

After Y'Shua raises the little girl from the dead, He instructs her family to feed and take care of her. Today, someone mentioned the art of grafting a vine. The vines grow through the winter, but  for them to be fruitful,they must but cut off in order to be grafted to the new roots system that contains healthy nourishment.

Similarly, these girls for a while will leave their  homes and communities so that they can return with the life-given nutrients of a healthy environment. They will board at the school God is building It is my hope to return the girls to their homes where they can be appropriately be cared for  and nurtured.

Arising One Day at a Time,
MJ

The Wounded Womb

A very unusual and shockingly graphic passage of the Bible, Judges 19, begins with these words:  In those days, there was no king in Israel and every man did what was right in his own eyes. That statement will begin a tale of violence and woe never spoken of before in the Bible. In this story, a man’s concubine leaves him to return to her father’s home. In his zeal he sets out to bring her herhome. Once he retrieves her, he begins the journey at night to return to his own village- an unwise venture.
 Along the way, he and his concubine are invited to take shelter in an old man’s home. Although the man seeks to protect his guest, the villagers demand that he turn the gentlemen out of doors so that they may have sexual relations with him. In a scene reminiscent of Sodom and Gomorrah, the old man has a better idea: why not make ill use of his virgin daughter and the man’s concubine? So, it is decided the concubine will feed the lust of the village men. When the men have had their fill of the concubine, she manages to drag her mangled body to the doorstep of the old man’s home, where she falls dead. Her master, inflamed by this brutal act, cuts her body into 12 parts and sends them to the all the tribes of Israel.

This story reminds me of living in South Africa where women have no value.  Less than a week ago, a young girl’s body was discovered. She had been raped by ex-boyfriend and his accomplices, and then her womb was ripped from her body. Violence against women in South Africa is not extraordinary. In fact it’s so common that in a recent survey 30% of men have admitted to having raped a woman. This percentage includes the horrific and brutal violation of the woman’s person as described above.

We know that children and women suffer the worst during war times becasue they are most vulnerable and powerless. We realize that women and children are used by invading armies as canon fodder. So, does this mean that South Africa is fighting a civil war: on one side are the women and girl children and on other side are their murderers and abusers?

What does one do in a society where women have no value and even less honor? In the story above, we find that the nation of Israel had no answer for the lack of value and appreciation of women.  They were stymied when the man sent his concubine’s body parts to the 12 tribes. They could only remark, “ has anyone seen anything like this in Israel?”  Where do you find yourself in this story? Are you the father, the master, the concubine the virgin, the old man, or the rapists?

We find that both the old gentleman and the concubine’s master are willing to send her outside to be abused by these men. They are only troubled that it is taken too far. But when is too far?  We find that the old man is willing to give up his virgin daughter to satisfy the lust of the townsmen.  Like Lot in Sodom and Gomorrah, he rather give up his daughters and then allow the angelic visitors to face sodomy. But what of the woman , her value, her worth? Obviously because the concubine is already labeled as depreciated because the virgin is not subjected to similar abuse.

When the master finds the concubine laid on the threshold, he only tells her to get up; it’s time to go. There’s no kindness or compassion. One wonders why he even traveled from Bethlehem to retrieve the concubine from her father’s home. We might think it’s a sad turn of affairs or twist of fate, for the concubine would’ve been better off if she had remained at her father’s home. The concubine’s father had advised them not to the travel at night. Yet, he refuses to heed the advice Why?

I’d like to ask us the same question:  “Why do we refuse to heed the cautions, warnings, the premonitions that line the same very dangerous road in the nation in South Africa? When girl children are raped with incredible alacrity, with no alarm in the people’s hearts, what does that say about the conscience of the nation? 

 As ancient Israel so present day South Africa.  It is an indictment against people who do not truly care.  One young woman upon hearing of the brutal rape and murder of the 17- year old victim, Anene Booysen quipped, “They could’ve asked; they didn’t have to take it.”  So it’s all right to ask, and if the answer is no, take it anyway?

There is something very broken about the South African male- it is the South African woman. She is the one who is teaching him that he is more important than her girl children. When the girl child works, and the boy does nothing at home. When he is given the first portion and the best part, what else can he think? I heard a story of a Christian minister and his assistant who both believed that a woman had less worth than a cow. The assistant began to cry, as she released the pent frustration and despair of having no value. What is saddest of all is that we wound ourselves.

I am scared of this false belief system, for you see it was this reason that I came to South Africa- to confront the hegemony, the abuse, and the lies about who girls really are and what they are really worth.  Please read the report for yourself below.

The Government Communication and Information System (GCIS) has added its voice to the national call for South Africans to get involved and take a firm stand against rape and all forms of violence against women and children.

GCIS staff members took to the streets of Pretoria on Monday in a bid to increase community awareness about the scourge of rape.

Carrying placards with messages such as "No means no", "Say no to rape", "Real men don't rape", "Don't look away: report and act against rape", staff members interacted with the public, handing out pamphlets with toll-free helpline numbers for Crime Stop and Childline, among others.

The pamphlets also had information on steps individuals and communities could take to protect themselves.

"We are calling on society to be active participants and unite against the abuse of women," said acting GCIS CEO Phumla Williams. "Government alone cannot do it."

"As the GCIS, we want to empower the public with the information … We want everybody to be part of the campaign."

Williams emphasised the need to empower people in South Africa's rural areas, saying they had to be better equipped to report incidences of rape.

The campaign's message resonated with members of the public. Lillian Raophala (25), a student in one of the colleges in the Pretoria city centre, said she fully supported the campaign.

"Women should be free and they must report incidences of rape," she said.

Thabang Phago from Mamelodi, east of Pretoria, said rape should not be tolerated. "As men, we need to unite against such acts," he said.

The campaign was triggered by recent rape cases, the most recent being that of Anene Booysen (17), who was raped and mutilated in Bredasdorp in the Western Cape.

She was found at a construction site on Saturday, 2 February, left for dead by her attackers. She died later that day from her injuries.

One of Booysen's alleged killers appeared before the Bredasdorp Magistrate's Court on Monday. Three people, all from Bredasdorp, have been arrested in connection with Booysen's death. Booysen was buried at the weekend.

Read more: http://www.southafrica.info/services/rights/antirape-120213.htm#ixzz2KlzbURtA