He Walks Among Us: Devotions by Rich and Reneé StearnsSýnishorn

Women in the DRC find strength in each other. Photo: © Jon Warren/World Vision

Pushing the Elephant

By Reneé Stearns

We’d spent an entire week talking with women who’d been the victims of violence at the hands of warring militias. I was ready for a break, eager to meet with the Congolese women who worked for World Vision. We planned to watch the film Pushing the Elephant, the story of a mother who had managed to escape the DRC and her efforts to be reunited with the young daughter she had left behind. I was skeptical that it would resonate with the staff. But when, a few minutes into the movie, the women dissolved into tears, it became clear that the story was, in some way, the story of the women in this room.

What was truly amazing to me was that none of these women had ever talked about their experiences with one another. Each morning they arrived at the office in makeup, high heels, and beautiful Congolese dress, never letting on about the troubles they had lived through. Maybe each of them assumed that the others in the office had been immune to the horrors she had suffered.

Perhaps Esther, wife of Xerxes, ruler of the Persian Empire, thought at first that she was immune to the troubles her people faced. After all, she was queen. But when Haman convinced Xerxes to issue a decree to destroy the Jews, Mordecai warned his cousin that her position as queen would not protect her. Esther alone, however, had a unique opportunity to speak to the king on behalf of her people.

When we read the story of Esther, we’re reminded that God may have placed us where we are right now to accomplish something of His work in the world. But equally important is the idea that, as Mordecai told the queen, we are not immune to the pain and loss that others suffer. We may think that because we are followers of Christ, because we try hard and are good people, we are exempt from adversity, but that is not the teaching of the Bible. We should not be surprised when we also experience hardship. But God does not leave us alone, and we can find strength in sharing both our struggles and our triumphs with those people God has placed around us. None of us can move an elephant on our own. But if we push together, we just might be able to do it!

Excerpted from He Walks Among Us, a devotional book by Rich and Reneé Stearns, with photos by Jon Warren. (October 2013, Thomas Nelson)