Heart Failure and Kony 2012
“Our greatest fear should not be of failure, but of succeeding at things in life that don’t really matter.” – Francis Chan
Earlier this week, I saw this quote come across Facebook. Did you? Then, a few days later, I came across the viral video from a social media movement concerning the Invisible Children called “Kony 2012”.
Can I share a secret with you? Lately, I have been feeling a little load of heaviness in my heart. I guess you could call it… disappointment. Ever get that weighty feeling where you needed a little more prayer for slightly stronger shoulders to carry more weight?
You see, I recently undertook a mission on a personal level. I lobbied our state capital to adopt legislature for a new law that is near and dear to my heart: HB 4442. If adopted, this law would require all public schools to have AEDs (automated external defibrillators). This bill is important not only for the personal health of my children but for the public in general as well.
So, with most efforts, I rallied at 110% in an effort to generate awareness. I wrote letters on facebook and here on Moms of Faith. I called friends and family. I submitted letters to the editors at every major newspaper across the state of West Virginia.
I failed.
In an attempt to fill the mailbox of WV Education Committee Chair, Mary Poling, HB 4442, I am sorry to relay, “died” in session. What an awful way to describe such relevant legislature. But, this bill to require life saving equipment has experienced “Heart Failure”. Can you believe it? Here’s what happened:
Rather than decide to vote to approve HB 4442 and send on to the Senate, the “House Education has proposed a Legislative Study be funded and completed on the issue of requiring AED’s in all public schools; HCR 128”. According to Delegate Cowles, lead sponsor of the bill, this means that the state will require an investigative study to examine school districts and calculate expense to further finance future legislation.
I failed?
Well, I guess if my original intent was to see this bill pass in the 2012 Legislative Session, then I did. I failed on matters of the heart, right? But as hott-hubby Dan would tell you, my objectives aren’t always realistic, are they.
Unbeknownst to me, this is just how a bill works. It.takes.time! Does it matter? Well, yes it does. So, I guess I need to admit here that I am afraid of failure, at this point, because if HB 4442 doesn’t pass, it could be someone’s heart that needed an automated external defibrillator that is at steak.
Funny how God puts the smallest phrase across my facebook feed at just the right time, isn’t it? “Our greatest fear should not be of failure, but of succeeding at things in life that don’t really matter.” It might not be the right time for HB 4442 to pass, but eventually, I know that it will.
Want to know how I know this? Because I have prayed for it. I have asked God specifically to see that all public schools have AEDs. And I believe in answered prayers.
“Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you.” – Matthew 7:7 (NLT)
As I experienced the disappointment of the failure of HB 4442, I learned of the efforts of the Invisible Children’s movement this week. Yes, another bizarre connection in my brain… Have you heard of this? This group is seeking to raise awareness through social media to the actions of a war criminal in Uganda, Africa, who is doing horrific acts towards children.
If you have 29 minutes, please watch the video Kony 2012 on YouTube. Of course, something like 55 million have already viewed it, so maybe you will understand how my heart broke in pieces when I saw this. I can only imagine how God’s heart shatters when he hears the cries of the 30,000 children held captive by this man. Do you think God feels failure when he sees what is happening to his children? His heart, I am sure aches every day for these “invisible children,” His children, our neighbors.
It really puts it in perspective for me, you know? Although we may “fail” on our own personal missions, at least we need to try, right? All we can do is to keep trying to succeed in the things that really, really matter – our children. We may not buy the Kony bracelet or fly to Africa today; but we can do this: We can pray. We can keep asking, We can keep seeking. And, we can keep on knocking. Right now.
“There is nothing more powerful than idea whose time is right now.”
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