The earth is groaning. And right now her labor pains swell throughout the Middle East. For too long, the people have been downtrodden, humiliated and oppressed. But no more. They are fighting back. For dignity, for freedom, for their voices to be heard.
I'm moved as I watch and read about the revolutions happening in Tunisia, Egypt, Jordan. Hundreds of thousands gathering in the streets and in front of government buildings, protesting corrupt and repressive regimes and demanding the removal of their despotic leaders. The images tell me a story about a region whose people are desperate for change.
But what kind of change hangs in the balance? Will power shift from one form of tyranny to another? Or will democracy take root and flourish? I believe my Middle Eastern brothers and sisters want the same things we all want: peace, freedom and opportunity. Most importantly, I think their uprising is a response to what lies at the core of every human being: to be treated with dignity.
I pray this revolution would bear good fruit. I pray the people's voices would be heard. I pray for the lives lost-- that they would not have died in vain.
