Psalm 25:4-6 (ESV)
4 Make me to know your ways, O Lord;
teach me your paths.
5 Lead me in your truth and teach me,
for you are the God of my salvation;
for you I wait all the day long.
teach me your paths.
5 Lead me in your truth and teach me,
for you are the God of my salvation;
for you I wait all the day long.
6 Remember your mercy, O Lord, and your steadfast love,
for they have been from of old.
for they have been from of old.
So I've been struggling with this whole statue of Robert E. Lee situation. I think it's just so sad and complicated beyond a simple one word, *history*, or one action *removal*. Obviously it's so much deeper than either one of those things.
The big division that has shown up over this historical statue has been a manifestation of what has been brewing in the hearts of people for a long time, generations..........
The thought I kept having last week was:
If you ran my Grandma over with your car and then put that car in a park to remind everyone of that history, and justified that it was a good car and it was only doing it's job when it ran my Grandma over, it would bring pain and anger every time anyone in my family saw that car for generations to come.
But as usual I kept thinking, there must be more that I don't see or understand..... because that seems too simple too obvious...What am I missing that seems to make everyone think this is so important to fight over?
It's the hearts of people, NOT the history or statutes, that has everyone in turmoil. When our idols are messed with it, it causes the heart to FEEL big and act PASSIONATELY.
So, here's my personal experience....I have a kid that has had a traumatic past...and this child does very well in life, and is a very loved and treasured human being among our family and friends. This child is one of the kindest humans I have ever known. This child has been thru IT and has overcome a lot in life. A few weeks ago this child fell off the track of progress....nobody else would probably know it, or notice it, but there was a looming heart-ache that affected all those in close contact. We had done all the things we know to do, to bring the heaviness to a restful place again, but I became exhausted and frustrated.
Then a few days ago, the opportunity presented itself to have a heartfelt conversation. I have tried many times before, but there has to be a readiness on both parts. Our paths finally crossed at the right time, and we began to talk about what was going on. When this finally happens we have to track back to when it all fell apart "this time". As we talked, we realized there was a certain piece of history that was being remembered and felt and looked at daily, and not thru the lense of love and forgiveness, but thru the lense of hurt and pain and it just was more that this child could bear. It would seem to be a small and insignificant thing to most people, or even a good thing to possess such memorabilia, but that's not what this child was experiencing.
Oh Lord in heaven I am here to testify with all confidence....it did not do good things for this precious soul, to have a constant reminder of this " simple history". As soon as I understood what was going on, I knew it was important to keep this "thing" to remember, and to preserve "history," BUT I knew more than anything else that this item needed to get out of constant vision or we were all going to have a melt down. The history needed to be remembered, but also grieved over, and this is something to do on occasion, with reverence, not daily and not flippantly. What seemed so innocent and even sweet to me was a source of pain for this child. Some of the pain, is feeling and thinking about, "what could have been". The act of listening to what was happening inside this soul was eye opening. This child didn't even know this is what was going on inside until we began to talk and confess it out loud. I don't have the same reminders or reaction to this item, but since this child DOES, I couldn't get it out of here fast enough.
I thank God for showing me this in my own home, even though it has been a bumpy couple of weeks. I wonder what would happen if we could all take these divisions and make them as personal as a child in our own home. We might all give a lot more understanding and not be so sure of what we think and feel, but compassion might lead the way to unity, even if we still don't agree.
May our minds open to understand, our hearts feel compassion, and our passions be lead in LOVE and GRACE.
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