Remembered by the ones I love.
"I'd rather be remembered by the ones I love," says Caleb Chapman in his song "Remembered For." Written for Colony House's second album, Only The Lonely, this song has been running through my head over and over since it was released two weeks ago. It's been a while since a song so precisely described my greatest wish. "Wish" sounds so petty, so weak; I'm not sure what word replaces it, though, so I'm stuck with it for now.
I feel so completely sheltered and insulated in my safe little Iowa bubble this week. I've been watching this country's latest events spinning wildly around me and I can't help thinking I am no more than a hamster, nibbling on whatever is closest to my nose, running pointlessly on a wheel, burying my small head in wood chips. What good is nibbling (researching) or running (speaking out) when much of my audience would rather I bury my head in wood chips (sand)?
I determined months ago that I would never stop looking strangers in the eye and smiling at them every day. I'm scrolling past Facebook posts defending the new president's executive orders because I can't stomach them. I'm reading tweets from people who attended marches and anxiously scrolling through updates from people in airports across the nation. This week a line was crossed. It's not about politics, anymore. It's literally about lives.
I've typed and erased so many paragraphs tonight. Thought after thought has been filtered and rejected because each one doesn't feel bold enough, honest enough.
Can we just STOP and acknowledge that there are refugees in need of a safe place...and we are denying them that safe place because of POLITICS and FEAR and PRIDE? People are beginning to speak up, but there are still so many Christians who are either silent or defending this move.
You're kidding me, right?
Can we back up and contemplate the healthcare that was just snatched out from under the noses of so many people? Human beings...without access to both simple and complicated forms of medical treatment. And why are some Americans against this healthcare being provided? Because they would be helping to fund it by paying more taxes. Because when you think about it, that sounds so awful...helping provide for those in need, and all.
SERIOUSLY?
I am disgusted with the silent majority in my own faith today. If the element of this week that made your blood boil the most was the way some people dressed or spoke at a demonstration, how are you reflecting Christ at all? If you call yourself a part of the Church, where do you stand on feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, ministering to the imprisoned?
Are you going to stand and sit and bow your head today with a light heart or a heavy one? I would argue that as American Christians, we'd better have a burden on our hearts for those who are weary today.
I have not lost faith in my Jesus. He can and will do miraculous things in the 1,451 days left in this presidency. But I have nearly lost all confidence in so many of my brothers and sisters who share this faith. Lift your heads and open your mouths, fellow believers. Do it now, so that it will be said of you that you truly loved your neighbor.
"I want to still be standing when it falls apart. I want to be a shoulder for the broken heart. It's what I want to be remembered for."
I feel so completely sheltered and insulated in my safe little Iowa bubble this week. I've been watching this country's latest events spinning wildly around me and I can't help thinking I am no more than a hamster, nibbling on whatever is closest to my nose, running pointlessly on a wheel, burying my small head in wood chips. What good is nibbling (researching) or running (speaking out) when much of my audience would rather I bury my head in wood chips (sand)?
I determined months ago that I would never stop looking strangers in the eye and smiling at them every day. I'm scrolling past Facebook posts defending the new president's executive orders because I can't stomach them. I'm reading tweets from people who attended marches and anxiously scrolling through updates from people in airports across the nation. This week a line was crossed. It's not about politics, anymore. It's literally about lives.
I've typed and erased so many paragraphs tonight. Thought after thought has been filtered and rejected because each one doesn't feel bold enough, honest enough.
Can we just STOP and acknowledge that there are refugees in need of a safe place...and we are denying them that safe place because of POLITICS and FEAR and PRIDE? People are beginning to speak up, but there are still so many Christians who are either silent or defending this move.
You're kidding me, right?
Can we back up and contemplate the healthcare that was just snatched out from under the noses of so many people? Human beings...without access to both simple and complicated forms of medical treatment. And why are some Americans against this healthcare being provided? Because they would be helping to fund it by paying more taxes. Because when you think about it, that sounds so awful...helping provide for those in need, and all.
SERIOUSLY?
I am disgusted with the silent majority in my own faith today. If the element of this week that made your blood boil the most was the way some people dressed or spoke at a demonstration, how are you reflecting Christ at all? If you call yourself a part of the Church, where do you stand on feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, ministering to the imprisoned?
Are you going to stand and sit and bow your head today with a light heart or a heavy one? I would argue that as American Christians, we'd better have a burden on our hearts for those who are weary today.
I have not lost faith in my Jesus. He can and will do miraculous things in the 1,451 days left in this presidency. But I have nearly lost all confidence in so many of my brothers and sisters who share this faith. Lift your heads and open your mouths, fellow believers. Do it now, so that it will be said of you that you truly loved your neighbor.
"I want to still be standing when it falls apart. I want to be a shoulder for the broken heart. It's what I want to be remembered for."
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