Often, when things get heavy in the world, I shy away from saying anything, due in equal measures to not wanting to add to the chaos and, also, from feeling unqualified to speak.
I almost did that again.
I still don’t think I’m qualified to speak, but this is for my friend.
In the eight days since George Floyd’s murder, the country feels … on fire.
His death reached across social, racial, religious and economic aisles; a spark that ignited the conversation on race and privileged and quickly exploded in a way unparalleled in my recent memory.
This conversation is important and needs to happen.
It is a conversation that has made me examine myself and identify the privilege in my own life.
Case in point, my husband went running this evening when he got home from work and — aside from the nearly triple-digit heat — I didn’t have to worry.
The same way I don’t have to worry when he drives to and from work each day or goes to the store to pick up milk.
And it’s the same for our son as he grows up.
Yes, of course there are the worries that every parent has for their child, but I have the luxury of not having to worry about “the extras.”
My heart breaks for the mothers who do.
It breaks for the broken; For those who have lost loved ones, who live in fear, for those passed over, talked down to, abused, harassed, insulted, assaulted, kept back, kept down.
To you, I say, “I am listening.”
I care.
And I’m grieving.
I’m grieving because of the tainted mark that the Minneapolis officers’ actions – both active and passive – leave on the countless men and women who daily put their lives on the line because they believe in justice; they believe in protecting and serving; they believe in standing up for and defending the underdog; in protecting the innocent; in preserving right and fighting wrong.
I’m grieving because those same men and women now find themselves collateral damage in a sweeping wave of protest – and, in some cases, in danger.
Justice must be sought.
When justice is done, it brings joy to the righteous but terror to evildoers. (Proverbs 21:15)
Voices need to be heard.
Defend the poor and fatherless: do justice to the afflicted and needy. (Psalms 82:3-4)
Change needs to happen.
And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. (Galatians 6:9)
Violence does not.
In his article, Nonviolence and Racial Justice, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. urged the following:
“May all who suffer oppression in this world reject the self-defeating method of retaliatory violence and choose the method that seeks to redeem. Through using this method wisely and courageously we will emerge from the bleak and desolate midnight of man’s inhumanity to man into the bright daybreak of freedom and justice.”
Yes, “weeping may endure for the night, but joy comes in the morning.”
“Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming.” (1 Peter 1:13)
Because of that, we can have hope.
To my friend, I say,
“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.” (Deuteronomy 31:6)
And,
“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” (Romans 15:13)
To everyone else, I say,
“Be kind and loving to each other and forgive each other, just as God forgave you in Christ.” (Ephesians 4:32)
Let’s make tomorrow better.
Safer.
Kinder.
More loving.
For everyone.
The Mijs Life 