Good morning to you <3

We are living in some times of great testing and trial for all people, as I am sure you are painfully aware. 

You all know I rarely speak into situations where many voices are speaking because I do not feel like I can add anything productive to the noise, but I have some thoughts of exhortation to give you. My guess is if you take the time to read what I write, it is because God uses it to help you process and grow in your faith. 

So I am sharing some insights into several hot topics that have helped me apply the teachings of Christ to this season that has been assigned to me on planet Earth. 

I plan on doing this quickly and succinctly without embellishment. These are observations from someone who is being stirred in her heart to speak up where I can. 

 I wrote a post yesterday with some thoughts on the most recent death of an unarmed black man at the hands of police so I have already addressed that, but today I want to share a heart wrenching memory of the news reports I have seen and that is of a young girl who was an eyewitness. I am going to guess her age to be 9-11 years old. I can see her vividly in my memory, with a mask resting just below her chin as she shares what she saw. With bewilderment she stated that there was a man laying on the ground with a policeman kneeling down on him. The grownups around her were calling for him to let him get up and he was asking for help and then he stopped moving. 

Take that in for a minute. 

Think about a child you love standing on a sidewalk with the adults around her who she relies on for everything in her life at this point and they are calling out for the right thing to be done, and they are ignored. Maybe that will help you understand the frustration that could lead to such anger and protesting. 

Which brings me to …

We may still, sitting in the safety of our everyday existence, question the retaliation of violence that would destroy the communities but I read a quote from someone who helped put that in perspective for me as well:

“Rioting is violent. Looting is wrong. And yet how can we condemn that without condemning murder with the same voice, or even more vigorously?…”

The author adds this quote from Martin Luther King Jr. 

“And I must say tonight that a riot is the language of the unheard. 

And what has America failed to hear? It has failed to hear that the plight of the negro poor has worsened over the last twelve to fifteen years. It has failed to hearth the promises of freedom and justice have not been met. 

And it has failed to hear that large segments of white society are more concerned about tranquility and status quo than about justice and humanity.” Martin Luther King Jr.

The author of the post goes on to say:

“We can’t be more concerned with Target than we are about human lives and human dignity that is still being oppressed and put in danger by our comfortable status quo. We can’t condemn destruction of property louder than we condemn the destruction of life. 

What else are people to do? 40 years of lobbying and vigils and peace marches and kneeling during football games aren’t enough, if not outright condemned. 

America, how did we let an entire community of people become so desperate that this is the only way they have left to actually be heard?

I don’t know the answers and I don’t know how to fix everything, but I can understand how anger, fear, and desperation can send a country up in  flames. Let our white voices be heard condemning racism too. It’s important. ” Lisa Conder Stauber

I couldn’t say it any better.

I am not, nor is this writer, promoting or excusing violence.

But I should know by observing my own life and those I love that frustration is the fuse that sets off anger.

I can do little to change the systems that are in place, but I can use my voice to speak against injustice and I can use my ears to understand the complaints of those who are oppressed.

I read this about God’s heart this morning and I will close with the words of Psalm 146: 5-9

Happy is the one whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD his God the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea and everything in the.

He remains faithful forever, executing justice for the exploited and giving food to the hungry.

The LORD frees prisoners, the LORD opens the eyes of the blind.

The LORD raises up those who are oppressed.

The LORD loves the righteous, The LORD protects resident aliens and helps the fatherless and the widow, but He frustrates the ways of the wicked. 

Amen <3

I am heartbroken for the hurt and anger of so many people.

I pray for the corrupt to be exposed and for those who would act justly and righteously to be empowered to act.

I pray to have the humility to take those verses up there to heart and to live them out here on earth  <3

I am choosing today to add my voice to the many being lifted about the most recent death of an unarmed black man at the hands of police. 

I would think any person with half a brain who watched the video can see that four armed officers was adequate to complete an arrest of an unarmed man without forcibly holding him to the ground with a knee on his neck until he died. 

To think that police officers would consider all of this in the line of duty; four in agreement as a crowd of people gather and beg for the man’s life while he himself pleads for relief, is beyond shocking. 

I know there are many policemen and women who would not do this, but we have on video four who did and we have multiple instances where similar things have happened.

A friend posted, these are just the ones caught on video. We know it happens and it has to stop. Our first responders must be people we can trust, that all people can trust.

To know that parents of black children have to teach them how to act beyond simply following the laws that are set in place for all citizens is an indication that we have far to go in understanding how deeply we have allowed racism to infect us. 

It is beyond my understanding how this continues to happen. 

All I have to use is my voice of influence, and knowing the hearts of those who read my stuff, I am sure I am preaching to the choir.

But if I can offer any kind of support to not only the black community but also to all people of color, then please know, I am deeply sorry for the inequity and injustices that are so much a part of our past and continue to inflict pain in our current story. 

I am, above all, a follower of Christ; and I know that all of us will one day stand before Him accountable for how we lived here. There is nothing in His teachings that condones racism.

While I speak out here against what continues to happen in our country; I do realize that because I am white, there are aspects and perceptions that I am not aware of. 

When I am made aware of my own sin and my own flawed thinking, I will repent and I will pray for God to lead me in His path of righteousness as I share this journey with all people who travel alongside me. 

I believe the ideal that all men and women are created equal in the image of God, but I am very much aware that there have been and still are people who would qualify that with their own parameters.

I pray to have a heart that is sensitive to pick up on any overt or covert or subtle racism in myself or any one around me and that God would give me the conviction to repent for my own sin and boldness to speak up on behalf of what I know is right and true when I hear it or see it in others. 

If you agree with this, humbly bow in prayer and ask Him for help to live out the love of Christ in this world in whatever way He has gifted you to do it. Pray to speak in your sphere of influence and to willingly become uncomfortable with those who are comfortable with injustice.