Love not hate: Christian response to tragedy

I believe that the only thing worse than a senseless tragedy is senseless rhetoric. There is one group in particular who has the knack for exploiting the vulnerable times in the lives of others to make their point. I’m talking about Westboro Baptist Church. Before I continue, I must stop and relate that this group is not associated with any other Baptist Churches or Associations. They are primarily made up of one family and have been publicly condoned by the larger Christian community. With that said, Westboro Baptist Church have become known for their protests at the funerals of dead soldiers, picketing schools who allow for the LGBTQ community to form groups or be open, and for their signs that express that God hates x, y, or z.

When I read on CNN, that Westboro Baptist Church was planning on picketing the funerals of those tragically lost in Tuscan today, including the nine year old girl, my heart sank and I was disgusted. No matter what one’s opinion is on the war, same sex couples, or the overall morality of the nation, as Christians and as empathetic people, we should be disturbed by this groups practice because it is born from a place of hatred and distrust and not of love. The families of those who have lost loved ones in Tuscan, nor the country as a whole, will benefit from the angry slurs and hate-filled signs. It only perpetuates the victimization onto the families and the rhetoric of the extremes that tears our nation apart. I was happy when President Obama, in his speech at the memorial service last night called the nation to recognize that we must stop and reflect upon how we can be better in the wake of this tragedy and find ways that we can join in solidarity to make our nation a more perfect union even with those we fundamentally disagree.

I think this is something that we as Christians should take to heart as well. We must stop and survey the affects our words have and that our responses convey to the world. Do we side more with groups such as Westboro, who utilize the vulnerable times in others lives to isolate them while condemning them with hate? Or do we find ways to join in solidarity with the broken, the victims, the oppressed, and show them love? Do our actions portray that God hates or that God loves?

The apostle Paul related to the early Christians, those who knew tragedy and persecution, to join in solidarity with one another, to bless and not curse, and to “weep with those who weep and rejoice with those who rejoice. (Rom 12:15 )” This is the sign of the love that Christians have, which is the reflection of the love that God has for all humanity. We must be motivated by this love and not by hate, misunderstanding, or differences of opinion. This is the message that Westboro Baptist Church has missed, but we as the larger body of Christ cannot afford to forget.

When Jesus proclaimed, “They will know you are my disciples because you love one another.(John 13:35),” he was saying that we may only be defined as followers of Christ if we love. We must strive daily in our lives to live up to this expectation, this defining purpose of our Christian identity. For if we do not love we are but a sounding gong (1 Cor 13:1) or senseless rhetoric within the broken world. But with love we can bind up the broken hearted, speak comfort those who mourn, and to seek unity in a time of chaos.

Writer's Dilemma

I have a hard time writing on this blog. Its not necessarily that I am short of material. Believe me I have done enough thinking lately that I could fill pages and pages with "thoughts for the journey". I think for me it is a hesitation to share my ideas with others. Now, don't get me wrong. I often share my thoughts with others through conversations, emails, and the sort- so I am not completely against the idea.

Yet, as someone whose dream it is to write a book and publish it someday- I am gun shy when it comes to posting my thoughts upon the public forum called the Internet. What if I write something and someone borrows it and uses it as there own? This is a real issue with the easy access of the Internet for someone who, like myself, would love to write for a living. So I suffer from the writer's dilemma of wanting to share what I write, but being afraid of someone taking my thoughts and using them as their own.

Take for instance this small scale incident that happened to me lately. I'm working for a non-profit and I designed a fundraising campaign to send out to our Internet community of supporters aka. our facebook friends and email contact list. A couple weeks after sending out my email, we received a reconstructed volunteer application that a local group formatted for their employees to encouraged them to volunteer. When I read over their plea, I was struck by the familiarity of their words. They were mine. Needless to say there was no indication that they had "borrowed"these words. I was both flattered and horrified by the prospect of them thinking my words were powerful enough to use. The problem is- they were my words and not the person's who "borrowed" them, but I am sure no one knows that.

Thus, this writer's dilemma.

After two years of silence. Well almost...

I haven't blogged in two years. It is about time.
Writing was very therapeutic for me, but seminary happened. Masters degree= lots of writing which in turns = not wanting to write anything I didn't have to. Thus my blog writing days took a hiatus.

However, I find myself now in a place where I need writing therapy. I need something to help soothe my soul. I am transitioning. Transitioning from a life within the academy, a life with a "call" to a life I didn't expect- in my mid twenties with a volunteer job and living at home with my parents.

Um. This is not what they told me would happen post-education.

So this blog will be thoughts for the journey as I try to rediscover myself and where I go from here.

Fall and other things

Autumn is my favorite season. The cooling temperatures, the smell of the leaves, as well as their wonderful transformation in color, with a hot mug of tea or coffee, makes for a lovely day. Their is something about this season that is whimsical and also melencoly. Something that awakens me and something that makes me ponder. In the midst of a crazy schedule I can take some time out to stroll along and let my mind wonder as I soak up my surroundings. Wonder about life, what is next, who I am, and the ins and outs of the everyday where everything seems mondane, but is filled with meaning.
So in fall I remember the change in me and the continual transformation I am undergoing. I am not the same as I once was, nor will I be the same tomorrow as I am today. Each moment, each passing second of time makes me older, and hopefully wiser as I become more aware of the mysteriousness of life, love, and the world I inhabit. As I grasp more, more of it is fleeting. As I hope more, my heart grows in hopeless longing. It is a tension between gaining and loosing, dynamic and static, between assurance and doubt.
So, with every fall I sit and I wonder as I ponder the change in me. Is it for the better or is it for naught? I can only hope that it is for good.

Tired and weary

With no consistency to the madness I find myself posting two months since the last one. Not a lot to be said or to reveal except that I am tired and weary. So much wears on a person that is both able to be pinpointed and also by many factors that seem to remain aloof. Alas, it all weighs the same, and weighs heavy. I don't know if I have ever felt this way entirely before. Sure I have been tired before and even burdened, but to the point where I feel like I have nothing left and am on the verge of being so frustrated I am going to just pop. No not quite, close but never this close. So I sit here and I wonder how I have arrived to this point. Is it because I have tried so hard to do everything on my own over the past year? Is it the number of changes and transitions? Is it changing life, changing views, newness and the like? Is it because I am continually carrying the burdens of the past and of the future?
Questions never easily answered for me. I am looking for rest, but coming up empty not knowing where to turn or what to expect. All I know is I am at the end of myself. I need this sabbath, to recoup and hopefully be rejuvenated.

Back Home...

There are places in my life that have become very familiar and home-like. Of course the town I grew up and my parent's house always makes me feel as though I have arrived home. The town where I went to Undergrad, and where my sister lives and even Atlanta is beginning to feel a little more like home with every passing day that I am there. On that list is CP. The people, the town, and the ministry have all become like home to me. The faces, the places, and the feeling I get when I walk through the door of the office or the staff cabin and see those people who have joined with me in the ministry for these three months. I love feeling like I have found the place I belong, at least for this time in my life where transitions have been the name of the game.
Change is never easy or painless, as I have said before, and this summer is no exception to that. This home is different these days. Familiar faces I expect to see as I walk through the door of the office are no longer present. There is a void here this summer. Something that we all are getting used to, and one that I don't think will ever be filled. So being back home for this summer is bittersweet. Though the ministry I love is much the same, there is a piece missing. Though, there is a strange peace about it all. Though anxiety and questions are a part of the beginning of the summer, I feel as though everything will be alright. God has brought the right people here, for such a time as this. People who are just as passionate as I about this place, these people, and this ministry. Things will be different, no doubt, but God will work as always.
I think this summer will be good, and one that I desperately need to experience. I have felt as though I have lost touch with my passions and the things I love so much over the past year. Things need to be reawakened in my life, and I feel as though it is going to happen this summer.

fun and work

Sometimes in life we need to cut back and have fun. As a child, life was a good balance of fun and work. You would have the average school days filled with learning, papers, tests, worksheets and the like, but there was also sufficient time for play. For me, it was playing a lot of sports like whiffleball, basketball, and the like with the other kids in the neighborhood. I always worked hard in anticipation for the enjoyment I would feel as I was running around, laughing, and playing with others. There was a sense of accomplishment and freedom that was natural to that lifestyle of balance, were I could be both a successful student and faithful friend.

As time has progressed and responsibilities abound, the balance of work and fun seems a little one sided. With the volume of stuff to be accomplished (especially at the end of the semester) and a lot hinging on performance, time for fun is a little lacking. But I realized, for myself at least, the necessity to give myself the space to be free and to have fun. Whether that is manifested in taking a break to play Rockband, old school Nintendo, watch a movie, catch dinner with a friend, talk on aim, or frolicing outside (and I do mean frolicing!), all have a way of rejuvenating our spirits. We need the energy and joy that is found in the fun times in our lives, to help get us through the times of monotony or the daily routine.

I hope that I always remember the joy of cutting back and letting myself enjoy the fun that life has in store, even if opportunities for it are less than before.