~Final Song of the Week for 2020~
You can blow out a candle
But you can't blow out a fire
Once the flames begin to catch
The wind will blow it higher...
...what happens now, is up to you~ ✊🏽✊🏾✊🏿
I spent a good part of last week trying to think of what would be the perfect song to end the year on. So many things happened this year. So many. More devastation than anything. That’s when I realized it. COVID was a big threat yes, but even bigger, is what was always there: racial injustice. This should be the focus. This should be the thing we pour our energy towards. How can we improve as a nation, as a world, if we’re still ignoring the very thing that has been holding us back for centuries?
Too many people have died just because of the color of their skin, and as we enter this new year, I feel we’ll be making bigger strides than ever to stand up with those who are oppressed, and speak up along with them. The truth reared its ugly head this year, and for many, this was a wake up call. Better late than never, but it’s terribly frustrating (an understatement of a phrase), that it took THIS LONG for many white people in America to realize that this was a problem we’ve still been facing; that it didn’t end after the 60s.
I think if there’s anything good that came out of this year, it was the revealing of true colors. We’ve seen certain family members and friends making their posts and speaking their statements about how they feel about black lives, the lives of the children locked away in cages near the Mexican border, the lives of the homeless. They’d rather stand idlily by as our so called “protectors” beat those exercising their right to protest. They’d rather support these so called “protectors”, only because hey, “They’re not going after me! I’m a law abiding citizen. They did this to themselves. My white skin has NOTHING to do with it. They should have gone to college, and then maybe they wouldn’t be in the situation they’re in. Don’t talk to me about privilege, I worked to get where I am. They dug their own grave.”
Above are real arguments I had to endure reading as I “debated” with certain family members about why the Black Lives Matter movement is so important. They are so consumed by their comfort, they’d rather be ignorant to those who aren’t. Which is real peachy coming from them, who claim Jesus Christ as their savior. A savior, who didn’t live in comfort. He sought OUT those who were hurting. He didn’t abandon someone because of their skin, or because of how poor they were, or even how sinful their past was. He offered out His hand, and showed them the Way. Unconditionally. All they had to do, was accept His hand.
That’s what we need to doing, Christians. We need to LISTEN to those in pain. Not criticize them. March along with them. Lift them up. Don’t be the ones casting stones. Love them. Don’t hate them.
2020 in biblical numerology (as cool as it is, take it with a grain of salt) means perfect (20) perfection (20), and that may seem contradictory compared to the events that occurred this year, but I beg to differ. The events of this year, challenged us in ways we have yet to be challenged as a collective. It pushed us away, but in a lot of ways, brought us closer. Yes, there were a LOT of assholes who chose to fight back unity by ignoring protocols, yet ironically, siding with the police when it came to beating up protestors, but you and I, we chose the difference. We chose to fight back the evil with love, and in that, we were being shaped to be who we are destined to become, and in God’s eyes, that’s closer to perfection.
I know for me, I entered this year confused about what I wanted to do with my life. Looking back at the previous decade, I did a lot of floundering. I’d try something, but it wouldn’t work. I gave up on so much. I was depressed, unmotivated, and felt like the best years had gone past me. Then quarantine happened. I was forced to stay home with nothing but my ideas and aspirations. I chose to go with it. I tried new things. I streamed more, painted, tried a touch of music. I now have a bigger direction for my life than ever before, and on top of all that, I learned what it means to listen, and learn. All of these events, have shaped me even further toward being more like Jesus, and I hope the same happened to you.
We need to be better listeners as we enter this new year. Let’s chose to love over hate. Let’s chose to be more like Christ, a light, many need to see in their darkest of times. I’m ready. Are you?
