A Bigger World

I love this picture.


For a few years I coordinated the summer day camp held at my old job.

This included Friday field trips.

Lots of locations were 'hot' spots over the years. The zoo, different museums, skating, inflatable spots.

So when I chose Lapham Peak.

Well.  I'm just gonna be honest here.

It was not very well received.

Let's just say I got a LOT of side eye.

But I had been praying.  For clarity and direction. For new experiences.  For ways to stretch the kids and staff.
And Lapham Peak kept coming to mind.

I remembered a field trip I had chaperoned years prior with my son.  The fresh air.  The breeze.  The beauty of nature.  The fun of simple field games and a scavenger hunt. And the feeling of triumph upon getting to the top of the tower. And.

And the utter joy and awe that comes when you look out over the state.  But.  It was more.

I wanted these kids to see that vision, yes.  I wanted these kids to know that exhilaration, yes.

But....I wanted these kids to know that God's world is bigger than what they might already see.  Than what is familiar to them.


You might read this and think, aw...what a nice story---get those inner city kids out in nature...how special to introduce them to God's world!


Naw, it's really about YOU!

















Because guess what....it might not look like Lapham Peak...but the same goes for you.

God's world is bigger than what you see.  It's more than what is familiar to you.  It's includes more than what you see everyday.


And I'm fully convinced that until we start to allow ourselves to enter ALL of God's world...and allow our heart to break for ALL of God's people....we are destined to fall prey to the thinking that only our perspective matters.


So maybe today you aren't going to hike through trails or climb a tower....but maybe you are going to befriend someone who doesn't think like you. Maybe you are going to listen to someone whose heart breaks differently than yours.  Maybe you are going to just take a minute to honestly and earnestly seek your own heart and ask God to break strongholds that keep you caught up in only looking at your little part of the world.  Maybe you are going to pray for someone.


Be open to your Lapham Peak opportunities. They might be met with side eyes....but they will be glorious!!

Tired.

i'm tired.
i'm tired of another black person killed.
i'm tired of adding another hashtag.
i'm tired of heads in the sand.
i'm tired of justification.
i'm tired of a decade old incidents being brought up to paint a picture.
i'm tired of cops not being held accountable.
i'm tired of administrative leave.
i'm tired of trying to explain and tired of listening.
i'm done with that.

i'm done with push back of blue lives matter in response to black lives matter. we know blue lives matter. it's why they aren't charged. it's why when someone kills them--that person, at best is killed...at worst is found guilty and is put away for a longgggg time.

i'm done with arguments about respect-blah blah blah and move to another country-blah blah blah. when the lives of my son's are valued in society the same way ANIMALS and rapists are...when they are given the same respect and care and concern by the majority..i'll listen to your arguments.

i'm done with trying to educate why the narrative needs to be changed. if you can't see that there is something in errantly STiLL wrong in this country with race...then we can be casual...but we can't be friends...and i'm not going to waste anymore breath or energy trying to show you what is reality.  that will need to be someone else's job.

i watched the video yesterday. i saw the smiley little photo they shared of the officer who killed Crutcher. She murdered him. And then lied. Video is clear...his hands are up.  Crutcher had no weapon. And yet even the dude in the helicopter knew he was a 'bad dude'.  There are honorable officers--doing their jobs---and then there's her.  i need solid officers to start speaking up against officers like her the way teachers do when an educator is found guilty of sexual assault.  speak up that she doesn't represent the honor of a police officer.  what does she do to the fabric of this country and what it stands for?  where is the outrage....how dare she wear that uniform and behave that way?  police officers are role models for our kids! they should all be ashamed of themselves.


the other night, several squad cars flew past our house with their lights on and sirens about 8pm maybe.  they were headed the way of my son's girlfriends neighborhood up the hill. it was a few hours before my son's curfew...but even still, i called him. to see where he was and had he left early?  was he ok? had he heard the sirens?  this is par for course now and my son's are used to it and understand.

i hate it.  despise this reality with every fiber of my being. 

these are some of the things I must fear for my husband and son's. And not because it's far fetched and i'm overreacting...because history shows they could be shot and or killed as a result of:

playing in a playground
walking in a neighborhood
standing on a corner
car breaking down
assisting a client
pulling out their ID
looking like another black man
riding the subway
failing to signal
being seen as a threat

i get that we all can have our 'thing' that gets us going, that infuriates us and maybe some don't see black lives as that thing. 

but if injustice is your thing.  then this needs to be a part of your thing. as a country...not just black America, but all America...this needs to be a part of our thing.

we demand athletes stand and we make memes, say horrific things in the comments of news articles about them...but stay silent on this.
we share posts on social media about social issues like rape and animal cruelty but still stay silent on this.
we condemn a situation like Sherman Park and name call 'animals, thugs, criminals, niggers' but stay silent when we know there is so much more to the situation.


i'm not addressing everyone. those with their head in the sand or those who are not allies...who will never be allies because deep down they are mourning the 'good ol days'...those who do not understand and do not want to.  i'm through addressing you.

i'm addressing those who deep down have broken hearts but not bold tongues.
i'm addressing those who agree but stay quiet not to rock the boat.
i'm addressing those who tear up when they hear about another incident but hold them back for whatever reason.
i'm addressing those who change the channel not because they don't care, but because their heart hurts so deep.

it's time to take stand.  it's time to lift your voice.

it's time for us ALL to rise.