Heal The World
Make It A Better Place
For You And For Me
And The Entire Human Race
There Are People Dying
If You Care Enough
For The Living
Make A Better Place
For You And For Me
I remember watching the 1993 Superbowl halftime show where Michael performed this song with a bunch of kids and the audience was all engaged with flashcards and stuff. Even back then, the lyrics spoke to me and inspired me. As I look back, I realize how God has really geared me to want to "heal the world" and "make it a better place". I thought that my interest in global issues started with my trip to China with the SmileTrain and iEARN the summer my frosh year of college - my first ever business trip... probably the best biz trip I've been on. I befriended young people from all over the world there, in particular, a 15 year old boy from Uganda and an older boy from Sierra Leone who shared their stories of the lives they live in war-torn and conflict-ridden countries. Their stories humbled me, made me so ashamed of myself and my lack of knowledge and lack of awareness of the world, and led me down a completely different life/career track. I had read what was going on around the world, but meeting people my age who were going through it personalized it and made it so much more real.
I went back to school making the shift from a biology, pre-med track to something completely different and something uber-challenging for my more science geared mind... I decided I needed to learn about the world and switched tracks to political science and international politics. I was so lost, but I am so thankful I went through it. I have to admit, sometimes I do sit and think where I would be today if I continued down that medicine track - I loved medicine so much (still do) and was so sure I would be a doctor... a sports doctor. All my friends thought I would go that track. Oh well...
Anyways, as I think back to that Superbowl half-time show, as a young kid, to hurt for this world and desire that "healed" world could not have come from my limited experiences growing up in the comforts of America and in my sheltered Chinese-American bubble. It is only God who could have planted that desire in me, crafting for His purpose. The experiences he's given me are beyond any expectations I could ever have. I'm learning to follow Him. I've said over and over that I want Him to take control of the steering wheel but it's so hard to let go, but it's time to grow up and commit. Do I believe or don't I believe? He knows me more than I could ever try to know myself. From before the 1993 Superbowl, He has known. From before I entered my mom's womb, He's known. I can't be in any better hands. So why be so stressed...worried...scared... trust him, love and adore him.
