A quick note, I am back to sending out my thoughts on Tuesdays
as we’re not traveling as much now.
Last week I wished you a week of looking, in depth, at
your mental
strength. What did you learn about
yourself? Understanding yourself in this area will either allow you to move
forward on a journey of success and abundance, or you will continue to face the
roadblocks and lack which you have faced in the past.
My thoughts and emotions are reeling with
another senseless tragedy and loss of life this time at a church in Sutherland
Springs, Tx. The youngest was an 18-month-old baby, the oldest a 77 year old
grandmother, eight members of one family were killed, and so many more stories
of people from this small town of 400.
So much heartache and tragedy. Unfortunately,
many are using these situations; the Vegas assault and 50 people killed, the 8
killed on the path in New York City, and now the 26 killed in a small church in
rural America to have yet another debate on gun control and immigration. As far
as the gun control is concerned; do I think some things can be changed, yes, do
I believe in getting rid of the 2nd Amendment, no. In fact, with
this latest tragedy; because there was a man with his own legally held gun who
went after this killer, there were far less deaths than there could have been.
I’m not writing on gun control. Where my
thoughts are right now centers around what is happening to our country. We have
those that only want to condemn the history of this country and justify taking
down statues that they disapprove of, changing the names of schools, erasing
history from the history books, no longer teaching civics and understanding our
democracy. We’re seeing protests during our national anthem, and name calling; racist,
bigot, misogynist, Islamophobic, and white supremist thrown out any time there’s
a disagreement. Violence has taken over some college campuses with the police being
told to stand down, some extreme liberal professors are subjecting all students
to their political view and not tolerating differences. Some students have been
asked to leave the class, others have seen their grades plummet, and many are
afraid to say anything to the contrary.
My recent reading has been more historical
books. It’s eye opening to know that these events I mentioned, and even more are
not the first time our country has seen this. Reading and learning about our
past is critical to us all making changes that will last. Denying our history
does not make it go away! As far as the racial issues in this country are concerned there is much to be embarrassed and saddened about. However, what has
been a focus moving forward, changing laws, having a dialog, understanding first hand and
making a difference through ACTION rather than just rhetoric and name calling.
Our young people can’t even answer basic
questions about our history and seem to have only talking points they’ve heard
or read on social media. When challenged with facts, they’re amazed and have no
response. Social media has totally changed how we communicate, how we gather
information, and what is read on Facebook etc. is now being accepted as fact by
so many. SAD!
What is the missing link? In my opinion, we
have tried to push aside those who have a belief in God and have a belief in
goodness. We have taken God and prayer out of our schools with the rationale
that it’s a separation of church and state. Personally, that’s an excuse and up
for interpretation. It wasn't politically correct to say Merry Christmas so we were all saying Happy Holidays. Guess what? I say Merry Christmas!
Students have asked for a time of prayer set
aside at the beginning of a school day for those who were wanting to gather. It
was not mandatory, it was not done over the intercom, it was only a quiet time
of gathering. It was not granted by the administration until lawyers got
involved. SAD!
One of my former students posted her
thoughts Sunday after attending her church in Florida. Unbeknownst to Annie,
the shootings at the Baptist church in Texas had already happened. Here are
thoughts she took away from the sermon and are QUITE appropriate: "The brokenness
of this world is not going to be healed by politicians. It won’t be healed by
those yelling in the streets. It will only be healed by those who bring the
light of FAITH, HOPE and LOVE. The goal of discouragement is to rob us of our
HOPE. Without HOPE we will not accelerate through life. Discouragement desires
to make us eternal couch potatoes. Without vision. But HOPE is the strength
that keeps us moving forward, fuels our courage and excitement to get up and do
what we dream of doing! God says, “My GRACE is sufficient for you.” Often times
we think it means we should just sit and accept our current struggles and know
that at least we have GRACE. The pastor at Annie’s church stated that’s NOT the
case. It DOES mean GRACE is sufficient to OVERCOME any and all struggles that
life and the world may throw at us. His GRACE is enough to conquer hopelessness
and discouragement. Three things will last forever – FAITH, HOPE, and LOVE –
and the greatest of these is LOVE."
Let’s keep these words in front of us at ALL
times. It is a part of our mental strength that I talked about last
week. When I think about the horrific loss of life in this latest tragedy, I
especially focus on the deaths of the young children. They were in church; a
place we thought was sacred, with a family member and surrounded by their
church family. I look at my own grandchildren and can only say a prayer that
they stay safe. How will these people, the church family, the town be able to
move forward?
Part of that journey has already started.
Pictures of people praying, and statements of faith abound. The press
conference Monday morning ended with a pastor coming to the microphone and
praying!! I LOVED it. The people’s faith is strong, and I would also add that
because of their faith their mental strength is also strong. They will turn
their struggles moving forward into a strength. “It takes energy, mental
toughness, and spiritual reinforcement to successfully deal with life’s
challenges.”
May God bless each of you this week. I wish
you a week of reflection.
No comments:
Post a Comment