trauma is a scary thing
You think it’s gone,
but then you find it lingering
where the nails meet skin
the sharp things live
where the speedometer runs high.
when the loud sounds ring.
A Prayer of Hope
Lord Jesus Christ Almighty.
Meet us here in this pain. Meet us here and remind us who we are in you. For yours is a story of justice, a story of equity, and a story of unconditional love. In your death you paved a way for us to live and you have given us such hope. We pray that with this hope we may heal the gaping wounds of this nation and remember that reconciliation begins in each of us. For race is a construct of the fearful mind, one that has torn us apart and cast us in darkness for centuries. As we step into the light, let us see that she is my sister, he is my brother, they are my sibling, and you have made each of us so beautifully. We only want to see each other through your eyes.
Let us see each other through your eyes.
Let us see each other through your eyes.
May your vision move us to repair our deep rooted confusions. For in your name we can break the cycle and prosper as one unified people. Amen.
It’s Time For a Watershed of Grace.
Amazing grace, how sweet the sound,
that saved a wretch like me
I once was lost, but now I’m found,
was blind, but now I see.
We can say this for what it is. It is, and I say this with a little trepidation, but with greater hope a national civil rights movement. Friends, brothers, sisters, amigos, amis, 친구들, peers– you will either take part in this or not. It’s an invitation.
No judgement, just love.
I hope you’ll consider joining this powerful momentum and flood in the fight for justice and systematic reform.
Incredibly moving and powerful chat (+ the tiniest bit of preaching) from Hillsong East Coast that I watched last night about racial justice, George Floyd, the history of complicity and silence in the church as the whole body, and how we as America [+ all humanity] ought to be moved and moving in regards to black racism, all racism (black racism, white racism, asian, etc)
Exodus 13:3 Then Moses said to the people, “Commemorate this day, the day you came out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery, because the Lord brought you out of it with a mighty hand.
Learn, Reflect, and Fight for Love & Justice
Short Articles that are teaching me more about Black Americans’ experiences:
https://www.runnersworld.com/runners-stories/a32729943/marielle-hall-racing-to-stay-alive/ – Racing to Stay Alive
http://shellyearchambeau.com/blog/2020/6/1/the-question – The Conversation
Resources for Processing & Fighting Racial Injustice:
Additional Quotes for Food for Thought:
“The righteous are willing to disadvantage themselves to advantage the community; the wicked are willing to disadvantage the community to advantage themselves.
We do justice when we give all human beings their due as creations of God.” – Timothy Keller
“The sea rises, the light fails, lovers cling to each other, and children cling to us. The moment we cease to hold each other, the moment we break faith with one another, the sea engulfs us and the light goes out.” – James Baldwin
“One discovers the light in the darkness, that is what darkness is for; but everything in our lives depends on how we bear the light. It is necessary, while in darkness, to know that there is a light somewhere, to know that in oneself, waiting to be found, there is a light. What the light reveals is danger, and what it demands is faith.” – James Baldwin
For Anti-Racist Newborns:
To act on our desires to live and model an anti-racist life, we must relentlessly pursue all manners of self-evaluation, reflection, and self-work. Whenever I find myself having to challenge a long held and incorrect, but strong view of myself, another, or a thing, I find myself having to do some self-talk. This means literally repeating regularly, daily, a different narrative or system in my head internally or out-loud (folks from various disciplines/walks of life will refer to similar cognitive behavioral concepts with words like affirmation, mantras, visualizations). Sometimes this takes months— sometimes years.
On a brain level, studies employing MRI scans have shown that when study participants receive or confront strongly held views at variance with their own such as their views on policy or race, the parts of their brains related to self-identity and negative emotions flare up.
It’s reasonable to expect that we will meet resistance and feel tension as we strive to become anti-racist in our lives, transform our communities, and be true peers of Black Americans, but we sometimes forget how often that resistance can come from our minds, our hearts— our own selves!
Changing the racial narratives and constructs of whole societies calls first for firmly, and radically changing the racial narratives in our brains.
I encourage you to take this note as a friendly call to action to begin some much required self-work as you begin to respond and and take action to support this movement.
I will look forward to continuing to do so as well.
