The Somali Woman and Us

That local news story about the Somali woman who locked her five children in a closet and left for ten hours really disturbs me. Two of the children died. The woman's husband was traveling and had left her alone with the children. Let me give you some perspective on this practice. I spent several years as a missionary in Africa. African men do this all the time. This usually works ok as far as the well-being of the wife and children is concerned. The women and children live an an area of the country where there are lots of relatives and a supportive community that would step in and help in a heartbeat. But here was this women in a foreign country, alone with five children, far away from family, and living in a community that didn't want to be involved. Add to that burden the possibility of a language barrier. She was no doubt stressed out by the responsibility of caring for the children alone, with no one she believed she could turn to. So she snapped, and two children are dead. Her action was wrong, of course. But do you condemn her out of hand? Do you pray for her? What would you have done if you lived in her neighborhood? God knows our frame; He remembers that we are but dust (Psalm 103:14). I am so thankful for that Truth about God. Another reason this story disturbs me is that I can identify somewhat with this mother. No, I have neither been married nor had children. Nevertheless, my life is extremely challenging. I am grateful for the people who pray for me regularly, and whom I can talk to on the phone. And the Lord has blessed me with one friend who bears the brunt of my daily challenges to a very sacrificial degree in more ways than one, and does so with a great attitude. Sometimes I struggle with the fact that no one else rises to the challenge to share the load. (I would quickly add that I minister to this friend all the time). I am extremely thankful for this one friend. Scurrying along from this uncomfortable note, I wish to make a broader point. I believe that in the very near future in the United States, we will see hard times such as this country has never seen. The signs are everywhere. If we don't learn to be more community minded, and take care of each other, many of us won't survive, like a certain two Somali children.