Happy Saturday my friends. It is a somber day for sure and like you, I cannot believe the weight of our nation right now. During this time of anger and division, I find it necessary to step back and take inventory. Not a list of what is right or wrong in the world, but an inventory of the heart.
Am I harboring anger that needs to be addressed? Am I reacting to daily events with love or knee-jerking with frustration later taken out on others? Like you, I do not want to be part of the problem; my desire to be a part of the healing. I need compassion and empathy to fill my heart and it cannot do that until we pause and ask ourselves, “is the life I lead, the life that longs to live in me?”. (Thank you Rebekah Lyons).
There is not a quick fix to the problems in the world right now; however, there is a quick fix to my response. I hope you will join me in taking an inventory of our hearts. Take a moment to rest, re-define priorities, invest in those around you and be part of the change, in love, that needs to happen. Go first, use that kind voice of yours, clear out any anger or prejudice you may carry within and fill it with love for people and a country in need of healing.
Resources/Inspiration:
Book: Rhythms of Renewal by Rebekah Lyons (pgs 25-32 specifically focus on taking inventory of your life).
Verses:
Ephesians 4:2 (NIV), “Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.”
Romans 12:12 (NIV), “Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.”
Poem: “Ask Me” by William Stafford
Some time when the river is ice ask me
mistakes I have made. Ask me whether
what I have done is my life. Others
have come in their slow way into
my thought, and some have tried to help
or to hurt: ask me what difference
their strongest love or hate has made.
I will listen to what you say.
You and I can turn and look
at the silent river and wait. We know
the current is there, hidden; and there
are comings and goings from miles away
that hold the stillness exactly before us.
What the river says, that is what I say.
Thank you Nancy,
Pure lovely is right!
I’ve been meaning to let you know I Appreciate these.
Thank you Tracy! Miss you!
Thank you!
Anytime my friend! Hope you’re having a great weekend 🙂
Amen. Such a worthwhile exercise and a great precursor to putting action in place to make a difference around me. When the problems are so big, it is easy to feel discouraged and defeated but I am convinced that it is in the multitude of small positive changes that we can change things for the better. Like an avalanche of good!
Yes! An avalanche of good is exactly what we need! Love you Leslee!!
Lovely.
Thank you Angie 🙂