A while back (I don’t know how long because of forthcoming reasons) I wrote about the SickKidverse and how it warps all sense of time and place. Well, sit down SickKidverse. Newbornverse is here to show you how it’s done.
Last Sunday marked two weeks of outside life for Knox, Trevor’s 28th birthday, the 5th anniversary of my brother’s death, and the first time I went to church since having a baby. Tomorrow is Truitt’s 4th birthday. On Tuesday I bought him five uniform polo shirts for school. ACTUAL SCHOOL. Time is nothing. At 3 am it is slow and mind numbing, and at 11:16am I have a 4 year old who’s starting Pre-K in the fall and college by Christmas. What is this life.
Even in my postpartum haze the evils of the last week have not slipped by me. I heard the news of Daunte Wright’s killing first. The baby’s socks stopped me in my tracks. I bought the very same ones for Truitt when he was that age. Melanin, community support, and interaction with law enforcement are just a few ways that my experience of life has been different than Daunte’s, but we both bought socks for our babies.
I first saw the news about Adam Toledo during a night time feeding, the house hushed around me, my newest son in my arms. I put my phone down on the bed. It was too much to bear. Now I think of his mother, who must bear it. His thirteen year old friends, and their mothers, and the fear they’re feeling. The young boys in our neighborhood who have been so tender and kind to my sons, the fear their mothers carry, and the news anchors who would readily refer to them as “men.”
I hate these stories. Especially now that I have sons of my own. It’s too heartbreaking. It’s hard asking “Why,” and “What can I do,” over and over. But if it were Adam’s mother reading about my child shot down with his hands in the air, I would want her to ask those questions for me. I would want her to weep for me. I would want her to listen and pray and write about it in her newsletter.
We as individuals cannot end all areas of injustice in America—racism and gun violence being only a few. In the wake of these tragedies it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. My personal MO is to ignore the bad feelings with another episode or another cookie. Where do you even start?
There is much we can’t do, but here are a few things we CAN:
1) We can grieve, privately and communally. When an injustice pierces our hearts, we can refuse to ignore it. We can weep for the victims, for a world so lost in evil. We can reach out to those affected and let them know we grieve with them. They’re not alone.
2) We can give. $5 is not nothing, and Jesus says that the way we use our money is the most accurate reflection of the posture of our hearts. Plus, multiplying piddly resources for maximum impact is kinda what He’s known for. Throw some money at what grieves your heart, and see how it may open doors for growth and change, if only in you.
3) We can pray. It is imbecilic that I forget this one the most. My cycle goes like this: Terrible thing -> OH MY GOSH I HAVE TO DO SOMETHING -> *gives some money* -> WHAT ELSE CAN I DO I’M JUST ONE PERSON THIS IS TOO MUCH I HATE IT. I so easily forget that the One who has already shouldered the burden of the collective injustices of all humanity for all time, has given me full access and permission to ask Him for anything. What if we just remembered to pray? How might that open our eyes to see the work God is already doing? How might it change the way we see ourselves and our neighbors and the role we have to play? Our prayers will move us out of helpless paralysis and into humble action.
Grieve, pray, give. Of course there are a million other things you can do, and even more that we could do together. But if a news week like this one leaves you feeling paralyzed and exhausted, we can start with these three.
Now, the Tweets n’ Grams:
This is an excellent thread (click to read the whole thing) if you’ve ever wondered how critiques of purity culture fit within\ a Christian sexual ethic:
Big Introvert Vibes:
It’s the “slander with slander” that gets me:
Ben Schwartz repping all the writers:
A reason not to give up:
That’s all today friends. I know this was heavier than usual. Thanks for sitting in the heavy good with me. Tell me something that comforted you this week. Mine is leftover cupcakes and Kim’s Convenience.