I work with Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Services as an advocate for refugees. People often see images of refugees in the news and get a certain picture in their mind of what a refugee must look like, but the truth is a refugee does not have an image. There are refugees among you every day.
As a woman, a refugee, a native of Sudan, a resident of America, a sister, a daughter, a student and an advocate, I’ve had to learn to live with many identities. I’ve had to escape the bitterness and anger about a past I couldn’t control and work to make a difference for women like me around the world.
I know I can either hold onto bitterness for being ripped from my childhood, or I can let it go and heal. I can redirect my pain into change, so that one day my daughter and the daughters of women like me won’t have to go through what so many others have.
This message is excerpted from “More than a refugee” by Nyamal Tutdeal in the September 2016 Gather magazine. Today is the 16th Sunday after Pentecost.
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