I am Trayvon Martin.

I was sick yesterday when breaking news reported that George Zimmerman had been acquitted and then proceeded to show a clip of his emotionless face as the verdict was read on his behalf. Utterly. Sick.
I am sick that our nation is so broken and so divided by the colors of our skin. I am sickened by the understanding that human life has been so cheapened that defending our "stuff" is more important than preserving another life. I am sickened that our justice system is not at all just. And, I am saddened because regardless of what the jury ruled in this case, one young man is gone and another man was validated in the taking of that life. I am sure that he and the jurors will have to wrestle with that one for the rest of their lives.

I am Trayvon Martin. I have been watched and followed, and assessed based on the color of my skin and the texture of my hair. My husband is Trayvon Martin. He has witnessed women clutching their purses closer as he boarded the bus, clean-shaven and well-dressed headed to high school. My son is Trayvon Martin. Clad in any one of his hoodies while listening to Sho Baraka proclaim the goodness of God on his ipod, the idle passerby would never figure him for the scholar and godly young man that those who actually know him understand him to be. The truth is, regardless of race or gender, we are all Trayvon Martin to eyes not knowing nor understanding instead simply reacting to what they have been socialized to see and believe.

I pray for George Zimmerman that he might come to know the peace of knowing God, and put his trust in Him rather than firearms. I pray for the Martins. May they sense God's arms around them as never before and be bathed in the comfort the he alone can give. And I pray for this nation. Oh how we need a savior. How very much do we need The Saviour

"There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus." Galatians 3:28

Sabbath

It is January and I am having a sabbath. I am resting amidst the hustle. I am delighting in quiet moments. I am devouring beautiful frosted mornings and still quiet nights. And I am giddy from the pleasure of doing so. I don't feel like rushing. I am savoring this season too much.

Joy!

I heard this song again today, for the first time:

Joy to the World , the Lord is come!
Let earth receive her King;
Let every heart prepare Him room,
And Heaven and nature sing,
And Heaven and nature sing,
And Heaven, and Heaven, and nature sing.

Joy to the World, the Savior reigns!
Let men their songs employ;
While fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains
Repeat the sounding joy,
Repeat the sounding joy,
Repeat, repeat, the sounding joy.

No more let sins and sorrows grow,
Nor thorns infest the ground;
He comes to make His blessings flow
Far as the curse is found,
Far as the curse is found,
Far as, far as, the curse is found.

He rules the world with truth and grace,
And makes the nations prove
The glories of His righteousness,
And wonders of His love,
And wonders of His love,
And wonders, wonders, of His love.

And that, friends, is the excellent gift of Christmas!

Broken

The greatest lie ever perpetrated against mankind ( aside from the original whopper in the garden that resulted in the breach in our relationship with God) is the notion that we are the result of some random molecular changes in the environment rather than created beings. If we exist for no particular reason, except that cells aligned in a magnificent way to bring about our complex physical and mental compositions, then we are beholden to nothing. We are free to blaze our own trail. There is no right or wrong action aside from what society deems as such. This paradigm of random existence and free agency leaves individuals flailing like unswaddled newborns searching for comfort in a vast and impersonal universe.

If however, we understand the Truth, that we are lovingly, precision crafted by a God who desires to have relationship with us, who delights in us and the functions that he has engineered in us, the game changes. With this knowledge comes the revelation that if we are not doing what we are designed to do, then we are broken. The mission of life suddenly shifts from a purely hedonistic pursuit of pleasure, to one of discovery. There is a pressing need to know not only what we are capable of, but additionally to understand the mind and character of The One who engineered us with these abilities.

In the early 1990s, Robin Williams starred in a movie called Hook. It was a take on Peter Pan in which Robin was "The Pan." Having been caught up in the fray of adult life, he had long ago forgotten his time in Neverland and any sense of who he was and what he was able to do. He was broken. Only after spending time in the land that he left behind, amongst those who had not crossed over, was he able to slowly regain the realization of who he was and begin to walk in that knowledge. He recovered the skill that he needed to be victorious over his foe and found fulfillment in the process. So it is with mankind. As we become acquainted with the things of God and gain intimate knowledge of who he is, our eyes are opened to the incredible purpose that we were designed to fulfill. It is then, as we surrender to that purpose that we are able to walk victoriously and find wholeness.

"For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus." Romans 3:23-24

Free

On MLK day yesterday, I was considering the freedom that I enjoy as a woman of color in this country: the freedom to vote, to own a home in a diverse neighborhood, to send my children to an integrated school, to obtain an education, and work in a professional position, just to name a few. These are freedoms that I do not take for granted for I understand that they were achieved through the blood, sweat, tears, and prayer of countless men and women who have gone before me. These are freedoms that many of my ancestors never knew, and others only realized after nearly a lifetime of suffering. No. I cannot take them for granted. I am a grateful beneficiary.

In addition to the freedoms that are afforded me because of civil rights legislation, I have an even greater freedom, an eternal freedom, because of one act, committed by one man. While the civil rights movement certainly moved our country in the right direction, it was imperfect in that it could not legislate the hearts of man. It could not force anyone to espouse the principle that "all men are created equally" nor could it completely erase the lingering effects of hundreds of years of slavery, nor the ramifications of the Jim Crow South.

This freedom that is available in Christ is comprehensive. It completely transforms heart and mind, rendering a new creation. And to me, that is freedom worth dying for. For, "if the son sets you free, you will be free indeed." John 8:36