With racial tension being featured in the headlines again, I wish I could call on the fairy godmother with unlimited wishes.  She could wave her wand over the situation, and this would be the result.

Bibbidi, bobbidi, boo …

• No more instances where treatment is determined by skin color.
• No more media throwing kerosene on an already explosive situation
• No more trying to guess what this President or the last President really meant by what is said or done or not said or not done.
• No more prejudice.
• No more white supremacists.  Especially that.

Bibbidi, bobbidi, boo …

Are the problems gone yet? Or did not she wave her wand frantically enough.

If only life were that simple …

Praying about the situation, I feel helpless.  Silence seems like indifference.  Speaking up when I do not know the cure seems like handing out a wrong prescription.  And when I have little of merit to add to the conversation, my words seem like clamoring cymbals.  Because while I try to have love, I cannot help but be caught up in the hate that is spewing from both sides.  Some rightful.  Some not.

All I can seem to do is pray.  And when I read the portion of my Psalm for today, I know that praying for God to rescue the situation is the right start.  Psalm 35 verses 17 through 28 makes that pretty clear.  Especially verses 22.

O LORD, you know all about this.  Do not stay silent.  Do not abandon me now, O LORD.

Through the turmoil, I know that God is speaking because His truth is coming out in voices wiser than mine.  Oh might I listen.  And learn.  And continue to pray.  While they are digging in their heels standing for their truth, may I be next to them on my knees, calling out for God’s justice to prevail.

Some of my friends have had the opportunity to speak out in a public way about what is continuing to happen across the nation.  I greatly appreciate their perspectives.  And their wisdom.  Thank you for reading my feeble thoughts.  But PLEASE take the time to read theirs as well!

“Fear and Hate are Like Quicksand. Walk Around.”

I Was Raised on the Gospel of White Superiority

My friend, Deidra’s book, One: Unity in a Divided World came out this spring.  I am lingering through it, convinced that the message of how to stop divisiveness needs to penetrate my mind.  I highly recommend it and will do a whole post on the title when I have finished.

Today I added a new podcast to my list … The Shauna Niequist Podcast.  To my surprise, one of her segments had to do with this very topic before it even became an issue again.  In Episode 3, she happens to have Deidra as a guest, and they talk specifically about what white people can do to help stop the hate.  The conversation is worth listening to.