Chaos, Cops, and Changers
I know the internet does not need one more piece of material regarding anything political, racial, or religious. I think we are all filled to our eye balls with the over zealous opinions and beliefs of EVERYONE around us, and maybe we just need a minute to process the chaos occurring in the world around us. I'm not writing to convince anyone of anything, to change anyone's opinions, or to bring a brilliant epiphany anyone's way. I need to write to unravel my own thoughts. My mind is so full and my heart so heavy, I need some relief. And so I write.
Some of the most tangible advice a therapist gave me was to slow down my response time to people around me during times of crisis. We feel this weird pressure or obligation to respond immediately when sometimes it is best to stop and be quiet. God forbid we slow down long enough to filter what comes out of our mouths or the end of our finger tips. We re-post articles and quotes and memes that align with our beliefs, and so many times they come across like a slap in the face or the middle finger to those who have the opposing view. It's gone far beyond standing up for what one believes, but it's become this gross habit of sticking it to someone else. There is no need for this, and these words are what flood us with frustration, make us feel exhausted, and discourage us about where our world is headed. Opinions are not fact, contrary to popular belief.
I woke up this morning to my sweet Hazel trying to escape her swaddle, all with a smile on her face. I heard Nora's voice playing some kind of make believe in her room, and my little world felt so safe and good. Chris reached for his phone and then started reading the headlines from Dallas, and my heart dropped. All this hate and tragedy and dying; all this brokenness and heartache. People want to be heard and validated; people want to be understood and seen.
Chris and I have had so many conversations lately about politics and Jesus and race and law enforcement. Somehow a face to face conversation about these things feels more appropriate than spewing our thoughts as a Facebook status. We work out our opinions and beliefs and try to make sense of all this craziness. I like to think we're aware of our biases and how those biases bend us a certain direction. And I'd also like to believe that we're rooted yet flexible and willing to understand that our perspective isn't ultimate Truth, and that we are flawed in our perspective (just like everyone else). Everyone wants a voice right now. So many are shouting their thoughts, opinions, and hurts from the rooftops. There are too many soap boxes to count, and we are being flooded with so much information, emotion, and agenda that we don't even have time to think before we respond.
Talk is cheap as they say. All this talking and protesting and preaching isn't benefiting our world. We don't need more talkers, we need more doers. I've been thinking about Jesus and His life, and how He tried to approach political unrest and how He approached the marginalized communities. He was constantly upsetting people by the way He made Himself available to those in the community that no one wanted to touch or deal with. Jesus was a doer, and He asks us to be the same. Pro-lifers, stop talking about the issue, stop re-posting political articles, stop holding signs on the side of the road; start volunteering at a pregnancy center, be willing to house a single mom, foster and/or adopt. Be a doer. Talk is cheap; words go in one ear and out the other. Often times they offend and hurt and turn people away from the only One who can redeem and heal all this brokenness. Stop talking and reacting; let's bite our tongues and spread some tangible kindness and positive change.
If we don't like what's happening in our communities, let's stop talking about it and be doers to help change it. Volunteer as a Big Brother or Big Sister in a low income community. Buy a cop's lunch and verbalize appreciation for what they do. Be willing to foster and adopt a child whose life might take a destructive turn without someone to love them and support them and teach them. Help bridge the gap between law enforcement and the black community. Take advantage of your city's Citizen's Police Academy. Join the movement to bring education to people about parenting, finances, and heath. Let's get our hands dirty. Let's stop desperately trying to be heard, and desperately start trying to "be the change we wish to see in the world" (Ghandi). We don't need anymore talkers; our world needs more doers.
Safety is an illusion. We can fool ourselves into creating cocoons for ourselves, but look around. We aren't safe. We seek comfort like it's our purpose, but it isn't. Religion aside, I think we can all agree that a common purpose is to leave the world a better place than we found it, and certainly we can't do this by talking about it. We must put our money where our mouths are and DO SOMETHING. Find whatever it is that you want to change or impact for good, and for goodness sake, go do it. Life is short. Anyone can sit around a table and solve all the world's problems. Anyone can march down a street with a sign that portrays their distaste for something. It takes no work to be the victim. It takes no courage or bravery to stay as you are. Let's take a minute to grieve, to process, to be quiet. And then let's put our hands to good use in our world, in our communities, and let's stop screaming at someone else to change. Let us be the changers.
Some of the most tangible advice a therapist gave me was to slow down my response time to people around me during times of crisis. We feel this weird pressure or obligation to respond immediately when sometimes it is best to stop and be quiet. God forbid we slow down long enough to filter what comes out of our mouths or the end of our finger tips. We re-post articles and quotes and memes that align with our beliefs, and so many times they come across like a slap in the face or the middle finger to those who have the opposing view. It's gone far beyond standing up for what one believes, but it's become this gross habit of sticking it to someone else. There is no need for this, and these words are what flood us with frustration, make us feel exhausted, and discourage us about where our world is headed. Opinions are not fact, contrary to popular belief.
I woke up this morning to my sweet Hazel trying to escape her swaddle, all with a smile on her face. I heard Nora's voice playing some kind of make believe in her room, and my little world felt so safe and good. Chris reached for his phone and then started reading the headlines from Dallas, and my heart dropped. All this hate and tragedy and dying; all this brokenness and heartache. People want to be heard and validated; people want to be understood and seen.
Chris and I have had so many conversations lately about politics and Jesus and race and law enforcement. Somehow a face to face conversation about these things feels more appropriate than spewing our thoughts as a Facebook status. We work out our opinions and beliefs and try to make sense of all this craziness. I like to think we're aware of our biases and how those biases bend us a certain direction. And I'd also like to believe that we're rooted yet flexible and willing to understand that our perspective isn't ultimate Truth, and that we are flawed in our perspective (just like everyone else). Everyone wants a voice right now. So many are shouting their thoughts, opinions, and hurts from the rooftops. There are too many soap boxes to count, and we are being flooded with so much information, emotion, and agenda that we don't even have time to think before we respond.
Talk is cheap as they say. All this talking and protesting and preaching isn't benefiting our world. We don't need more talkers, we need more doers. I've been thinking about Jesus and His life, and how He tried to approach political unrest and how He approached the marginalized communities. He was constantly upsetting people by the way He made Himself available to those in the community that no one wanted to touch or deal with. Jesus was a doer, and He asks us to be the same. Pro-lifers, stop talking about the issue, stop re-posting political articles, stop holding signs on the side of the road; start volunteering at a pregnancy center, be willing to house a single mom, foster and/or adopt. Be a doer. Talk is cheap; words go in one ear and out the other. Often times they offend and hurt and turn people away from the only One who can redeem and heal all this brokenness. Stop talking and reacting; let's bite our tongues and spread some tangible kindness and positive change.
If we don't like what's happening in our communities, let's stop talking about it and be doers to help change it. Volunteer as a Big Brother or Big Sister in a low income community. Buy a cop's lunch and verbalize appreciation for what they do. Be willing to foster and adopt a child whose life might take a destructive turn without someone to love them and support them and teach them. Help bridge the gap between law enforcement and the black community. Take advantage of your city's Citizen's Police Academy. Join the movement to bring education to people about parenting, finances, and heath. Let's get our hands dirty. Let's stop desperately trying to be heard, and desperately start trying to "be the change we wish to see in the world" (Ghandi). We don't need anymore talkers; our world needs more doers.
Safety is an illusion. We can fool ourselves into creating cocoons for ourselves, but look around. We aren't safe. We seek comfort like it's our purpose, but it isn't. Religion aside, I think we can all agree that a common purpose is to leave the world a better place than we found it, and certainly we can't do this by talking about it. We must put our money where our mouths are and DO SOMETHING. Find whatever it is that you want to change or impact for good, and for goodness sake, go do it. Life is short. Anyone can sit around a table and solve all the world's problems. Anyone can march down a street with a sign that portrays their distaste for something. It takes no work to be the victim. It takes no courage or bravery to stay as you are. Let's take a minute to grieve, to process, to be quiet. And then let's put our hands to good use in our world, in our communities, and let's stop screaming at someone else to change. Let us be the changers.
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