Somewhere tonight

Somewhere tonight is a person who is already sound asleep, having cast the worries and cares of the world around them off, or at least to the back of their mind, and are now contently engaged in their own slumber.

Somewhere tonight an individual lies still and motionless, staring at the ceiling. Sleep evades them because they are consumed by worries and fears that they have no control over. Like a cancer, fear eats away at them- devouring dreams, thoughts, and joy and leaving trails of doubt, disbelief, and fear in its wake.

Somewhere tonight a girl sits curled up in a corner, trying to become so small that Daddy won't find her. Long before the bottle runs dry, she starts running- trying to find some place where she can hide that he won't find her. Only he always finds her. And then the insults and curses start flying, followed shortly by the fists. It'll last until Daddy gets too tired and collapses. Then she'll crawl away and clean herself up, all the while wishing she had the tears to cry.

Somewhere tonight a boy sits at the edge of his bed as blood drips down his arm and onto the carpet. He doesn't really feel it anymore... he doesn't really feel anything anymore. Something inside of him compels him to the knife- what he can't really explain. The cutting is the only thing that really makes him feel alive anymore... and sometimes he wonders what it would be like if he wasn't.

Somewhere tonight she's giving herself away to another nameless face. Momma always told her she was good-for-nothing and she would never be loved by anyone. So she's brought herself here. Again. Just to prove Momma wrong. Only... she's just proving Momma right. Deep down inside she knows it, too. But she knows nothing else and no one else really seems to care.

Somewhere tonight she can't sleep from the noises around her. On the ground, only a few feet away, her brother's wheezing breath intensifies from the cold night air. He hasn't moved or been moved from his mat in weeks and she knows he probably never will again. It's not the boy's breathing that keeps her awake, but rather the fear that it will stop... and that brother will be gone.

Somewhere tonight he sits with his back against the cell's bars. His lips, both swollen and bleeding, move silently with his eyes slit half open from the swelling. They've just thrown him back into prison for speaking about the love of Christ to the children in his neighborhood. It's his third time in here... and he knows he won't make it out again. His lips continue in their silent march, speaking not death towards his captors but life. He prays not for his deliverance but for the salvation of those who beat him and have cast him into this hole to rot. And he silently offers up prayers of thanks and praise for the situation God has placed him in.

Somewhere tonight the growling of his children's stomachs keeps him awake.

Somewhere tonight she's decided that the pills are going to finally end it all.

Somewhere tonight she questions her faith and if Christ really could be the person He claimed to be.

Somewhere tonight her pastor wonders the same thing.

Somewhere tonight dictators, presidents, prime ministers, and world leaders lie in drug-induced sleep because the fear of insurrection and assassination from within their regime would keep them up otherwise.

Somewhere tonight a soldier lies in a trench hole, having watched friends and allies die all around him for longer than he can remember. The stench of death seems unwilling to leave his nostrils and he asks himself if this is all really worth dying for.

Somewhere tonight hollow and ritualistic prayers are being lifted up to dead ancestors and deaf idols.

Somewhere tonight youth are being training on how to be suicide bombers and become martyrs for their faith.

Somewhere tonight she is being forced into a room with cameras and a strange man. She knows whats in store for her, which is why she fights it all the more. The penalty for her disobedience and lack of cooperation will be severe but she resists, nonetheless. She can't do this. She won't do this. She tells them this, at the top of her lungs. Over and over and over again... hoping and praying that maybe they'll listen to her. This time.

Somewhere tonight, a God who looks like, smells like, acts like, feels like, and sounds like love desires to reach out and touch the lives of the broken, discouraged, confused, frightened, hurting, and lonely. He moves on the hearts of those people who call themselves His followers, urging them forward towards those in such dire need of His love. But many... so many do not. In a world where love is the only cure, many with this antidote choose not to share it with the dying. Why?

Because somewhere tonight is a person who is already sound asleep, having cast the worries and cares of the world around them off, or at least to the back of their mind, and are now contently engaged in their own slumber.