Life in the Now
It is difficult to process things that make no sense. It is difficult to process the hate in the world, it is difficult to process the love between people and it is especially difficult to process what our hearts are feeling. It is difficult to process a break up, because you either are curious about what went wrong, why it went wrong and how it could have gone wrong. But to question that, I would also have to question God (& that is not the vibe). It is difficult to process murder and wrongful death, because we will never know what brought someone to kill someone and we try to understand the wrongful termination of a life, but these are very difficult things to process. I know especially for me, I feel a lot and in the moment while I am feeling everything (and then some), I cannot process anything. All I can do is be in the moment and keep swimming. It is similar to that feeling when you are angry and nothing logical can come from you except something you may regret saying/ doing. Yeah, I am feeling a bit of everything and my feelings are constantly changing and the minute I think I can fully grasp what I am thinking and feeling, something else happens and I start feeling something entirely different. What really helps me through all that is knowing that “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8 NIV). This grounds me because in a world where I have absolutely no control of what will happen next, my feelings are constantly changing, I am constantly changing, the world is constantly changing, God is constant and I am secure in Him. In a world where justice is flawed, I am reminded that God’s judgement is based on truth. What is the truth? My truth is that I am loved by God and made in His image and if God is clearly not inferior to anyone then neither am I. My truth is God’s truth and how He feels about me and how deeply He loves me. For a long time I struggled with feelings of inferiority, never being enough, always lacking something and I was always focused on the opinions of others and all the things that really did not matter and the world surely did not make it any easier in how I viewed myself. I find comfort in knowing that He loves me, He will always care for me and He will always be there for me. Everything else remains futile. His peace transcends all understanding (Phillipians 4:7) and believe me, I do not understand anything that is happening around me and I do not understand anything that I am feeling. However, I will not stray from the love of God because through my mourning and grieving process, He comforts me (Matthew 5:6 NIV). God feels our pain with us and suffers with us when we are suffering. He feels things more intimately and deeply than we do because of His unconditional love for us. “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in Spirit (Psalm 34:18 NIV), “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are..” (Hebrews 4:15 NIV). A world filled with love and nothing but love in my eyes would be ideal, but things are not so simple and our world is filled with a lot of hate and division. In a span of 3-4 months, there have been several black murders that have occurred. Either by the police or by citizens and I was sad for a long time before I really started reaching out and standing up for what is right.
Below are a few resources which may give some insight into how you can help be a part of this movement for justice.
Breonna Taylor:
https://www.change.org/p/andy-beshear-justice-for-breonna-taylor
https://www.standwithbre.com/
https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/justice-for-breonna-taylor
Ahmaud Arbery:
https://www.change.org/p/liberty-county-distric-attorney-justice-for-ahmaud-arbery
https://www.runwithmaud.com/
George Floyd
https://www.change.org/p/mayor-jacob-frey-justice-for-george-floyd
https://www.tinyurl.com/emailforfloyd
https://www.justiceforbigfloyd.com/
https://www.gofundme.com/f/georgefloyd
Sean Reed
https://www.change.org/p/mayor-joe-hogsett-justice-for-sean-reed
Other Black Lives Matter Resources and ways to help:
https://blacklivesmatter.com/
https://www.email2act.com/
https://www.change.org/
https://www.blackvisionsmn.org/
https://www.reclaimtheblock.org/home
https://www.naacpldf.org/
https://action.aclu.org/give/now
https://www.communityjusticeexchange.org/nbfn-directory
https://bailfunds.github.io/
https://www.nlg-npap.org/donate/
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1agMod4sN09hCicb8xO8qP8VxA_fwhM3eUhx3i_cYBU0/mobilebasic (This 301 ways to support BLM)
301 BLM Petitions (Change.org)
“A new commandment I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” John 13:35 NIV
“Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone” Romans 12:17 NIV
“Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written:”It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord.” Romans 12:19 NIV
“Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” Romans 12:21 NIV
“Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.” 1 Corinthians 13:6 NIV
