Hope

America, sweet land that we love, today you have suffered another tragic wound in the fiber of your story. Our collective hearts grieve. We weep with you Nevada. We weep for you America.

It seems we have forgotten how to be kind, civil and sane. Division, apathy, harsh words and politics divide and seek to rip away what is good, precious and whole within us as a nation. We have allowed evil to permeate the fabric of who we are as human beings.

In the midst of tragedy, there are heroes. Strangers and friends alike reach out to shield, comfort, staunch bleeding and carry the wounded. The inherent goodness of a human race, created in the image of a God who loves, in the hardest of places, brings hope to our shattered soul.

Politics will never unite us. Kneeling during our national anthem will not bring wholeness and rhetoric will not heal. We will never legislate insanity and evil. 

What then? 

• We can love our neighbor as ourselves, care deeply for those whose lives we touch and reach out to the broken hearted and the hopeless.  Mark 12:31
• We are stronger together than apart and two is always better than one. When one of us falls it is good if we have another to help us up again.  Ecclesiastes 4:10
• We must still believe in the goodness of our fellow sojourners upon this earth. As a Christ follower, I believe I am called to be the hands and feet of the Hope-Giver to those I encounter. We are given the gift of right now and we must not allow it to slip carelessly through our fingers.
• We can be noticers of people. See them. Hear them. Each one matters to God. We may be different but deep inside, we are very much the same. We can create a different story than the one spoken amidst the noise around us.

In the space of huge brokenness, the words I write seem small and quiet. I am but one, yet still, I invite you to come with me in this moment, in our today of grieving yet again as a nation and a people. 

 

God heal our land, surround those who mourn and equip us to be cupbearers of hope to a world, desperately needing Jesus. Show us how to make a difference.  Amen.