I woke up this morning, blissfully unaware of anything going on in the world outside the four walls of my home. It's summer. My time on the laptop and phone are limited because I'm not teaching (ie, don't have a lunch break these days), and I would rather spend my moments with my family. On the way home from big kid VBS dropoff, the local Christian radio station mentioned something about a tragedy in Charleston and how Christians know the bad days will come. I was confused, and started wondering if an ISIS-type attack had occurred. After all the talk about those type of attacks lately, my mind went there. I quickly turned on the news when the baby and I got home and was shocked at what I saw and heard.
Today unfolded, and a picture of a racist, sickly twisted 21 year old has emerged, a picture of a kid hopeless enough to kill 9 out of hatred. Why, oh why? Charleston is where my daddy's family is from, and it's where we spent summer trips when I was little. My parents and my aunt and other family members are headed there soon. How could this beautiful city see so much evil? What just happened?
Oh, how we need Jesus. How I pray for that boy to find Jesus. I'm sure we'll soon learn if this is more religious or racial in nature, but perhaps it's both. Either way, it makes me sick. None of us is colorblind. Not a one. Say what you need to say, but we all see color. What I'm ready for is for all of us to see past the color. I want us to see our differences and accept them, not be afraid of them. I want us to dig into the messy parts of life with each other and learn from one another. Culture is learned, so why can't we expand our knowledge? Religion, ethnicity...it doesn't matter. We're all desperate to be loved and accepted. We all tough, hard, ugly sides to us that scream for healing. When we will reach out to each other and start that healing?
As I write this, my obviously white son is on the floor playing with my obviously black nieces. I cried big, ugly tears this morning while the girls were at VBS and the baby napped because these three still aren't growing up in a world that looks past skin tone and into hearts and minds to find value and worth. When? When will it start? When will one person stop looking at the other as inferior? When will one stop looking at the other with fear and trepidation? I pray over each of them daily that their experiences are not the norm and that they lead their friends by their example of loving openly and freely. And in the meantime, I long for Heaven, for Eden, where all will be set right, and love will reign supreme.
Today unfolded, and a picture of a racist, sickly twisted 21 year old has emerged, a picture of a kid hopeless enough to kill 9 out of hatred. Why, oh why? Charleston is where my daddy's family is from, and it's where we spent summer trips when I was little. My parents and my aunt and other family members are headed there soon. How could this beautiful city see so much evil? What just happened?
Oh, how we need Jesus. How I pray for that boy to find Jesus. I'm sure we'll soon learn if this is more religious or racial in nature, but perhaps it's both. Either way, it makes me sick. None of us is colorblind. Not a one. Say what you need to say, but we all see color. What I'm ready for is for all of us to see past the color. I want us to see our differences and accept them, not be afraid of them. I want us to dig into the messy parts of life with each other and learn from one another. Culture is learned, so why can't we expand our knowledge? Religion, ethnicity...it doesn't matter. We're all desperate to be loved and accepted. We all tough, hard, ugly sides to us that scream for healing. When we will reach out to each other and start that healing?
As I write this, my obviously white son is on the floor playing with my obviously black nieces. I cried big, ugly tears this morning while the girls were at VBS and the baby napped because these three still aren't growing up in a world that looks past skin tone and into hearts and minds to find value and worth. When? When will it start? When will one person stop looking at the other as inferior? When will one stop looking at the other with fear and trepidation? I pray over each of them daily that their experiences are not the norm and that they lead their friends by their example of loving openly and freely. And in the meantime, I long for Heaven, for Eden, where all will be set right, and love will reign supreme.
No comments:
Post a Comment