You were created for a purpose. Perhaps similar to Laura Bowman, the main character in the movie, Beyond Rangoon, the pain you have experienced has stirred up a burning passion for helping others. Laura was a young British doctor who desired to end people’s suffering. Some time after her husband and son were murdered in a home invasion, Laura went on vacation to Burma, an Asian country, hoping to find herself again. While there, she participated in a pro-democracy demonstration led by Aung San Suu Kyi. She lost her British passport and was unable to leave the country. After that, she immersed herself in the political unrest that was taking place in Burma, through which she witnessed numerous acts of violence and all sorts of repressions against citizens by the dictatorship government.
When she was finally able to leave Burma, she eagerly decided not to return to the United Kingdom and joined the surge of university students fighting for democracy because she desired to help end the suffering of the people. She witnessed horrific scenes and the unending persecution of innocent people as she traveled throughout Burma with the democracy movement.
God has a Special Mission for You.
Perhaps, like Laura Bowman, one of your major desires is to lessen the suffering of the people in your family, community, or country. Although Laura was constantly dodging bullets and exhausted from fighting, she kept going. She kept fighting even though she had no idea when the fighting would end and relief would come. Her grieving and not wanting to see another person she cares about die gave her courage.
You, too, will find courage in what yourself, your partner, your family, your friends, your community, or your country is going through. The process of fighting to alleviate the suffering, the injustices, and the poverty or make things better in one way or another will encourage and strengthen you. And don’t worry, you will get through it and be victorious. At some point, things might get worse and cause lots of agony for you and the people you care about deeply; however, you are strong and will become even stronger through the process. A huge testimony will come out of this for the greater purpose of changing the trajectory of the lives of many in your generation and beyond.
You are Fearfully and Wonderfully Made.
“She looked so fierced as she was crossing through the guns because she wasn’t watching herself.”
Beyond Rangoon ( The Movie)
You are in your current position and situation for a reason. God has a great plan for you, beloved and cherished reader. There is a reason you don’t find or desire the things those around you are into. The reason you stick out like a sore thumb internally and externally. Because you have been set apart for a different purpose, for a mission that requires valor that cannot be acquired but only comes from within. God has already put that spirit of fearlessness in you. Now, it is a matter of watering and pruning it.
You are a Soldier, a Beacon of Hope for Your People.
You are a beacon of hope for your immediate family and all your people, including those with similar backgrounds.
For such a time as this, you were built. To fight the battles of such time as this. For your people, your community, your country, and the world.
You have been so strong! Heck, if life is truly a long test, then you have already passed the darn test with flying colors! Opportunities are coming. The locked doors and windows that seemed to be barred will soon be open. You will never be the same from here on you. You will tell your story with confidence, and it will be heard. Your voice will be recognized, and you will be loved.
It is not entirely about what you say that will make people love you but about what is inside of you that God has hidden in you. That is what will carry you through and what people will see. Try not to worry and stress too much. Just do your best. Taking one hour, one day, one week, and one month at a time. Leave the fretting thing alone. God is with you. And will always be with you. You will survive. You will make it. It will surprise many. Many will not understand. They will fight back. Many will be against you. But many will also support you. Many will be impacted and changed. Stay captivated! Stay fighting! And Stay pushing!
Encouragement to the Heart Yearning it.
Our hearts find inspiration, encouragement, love, and strength through various means, sometimes in random places, things, and people. If we stick it out long enough, our hearts always manage to find what they need in unexpected ways.
Thus, may this post encourage you as much as it did to me while drafting it after watching the movie Beyond Rangoon with my Karen friend in 2021. My heart was heavy, and my spirit was burdened before and during the movie. At the film’s end, I cried out, ( Hey, don’t judge! Tears clean the windows of your soul!). The tears activated my writer’s brain; I grabbed my phone and what was on my heart and mind started flowing through the motion of typing. What my brain had been finding hard to reason, the process of watching that movie stirred up the deeper living water down in my heart and brought it to life through writing. It expressed and brought the courage my human reasoning had been finding hard to muster.
Moral of the story: Sometimes, a tear-jerker movie is what you need to propel you into the next season. 🙂
Watching that tearjerker movie is what restored my hope and inspiration. I found the encouragement, strength, and courage I needed while watching Beyond Rangoon with my friend in her cozy wood accent bedroom. The burden was lifted. The circumstances did not change at that moment, but my heart felt lighter, and my spirit regained its joy.
Therefore, dearly beloved and cherished Reader, I hope You feel encouraged.
Yours in Writing,
