I look around and I see hate

I look around and I think, “What did we create?”

It seems like sin is growing more and more each day

The world is gray and our hearts are afraid

I know you look down with a broken heart

But I know You know your plan

You’ve had from the start

Lord over all

Your victory will reign

Your everlasting joy

Will one day take over all the pain

So many people right now are searching for answers

The arguments are killing us like a cancer

There is brokenness among your creation

And only the Creator knows how to save the nation

I wrote these words on July 1^st, 2015. They are saved in a Word document on my computer with guitar chords noted above. I meant to write a song, but I never finished it. That’s probably a good thing; I still have the melody in my head, and it’s really bad.

But, these stanzas were taken from a sloppy writing spelling out my heart-broken thoughts about the Charleston church shooting a few days earlier. Once I stopped to acknowledge the mysterious song I have had stuck in my head lately, I searched for the lyrics in my computer and found the document.

When I read these emotions I felt one year ago, I got chills because of the striking similarity to my emotions today.

My heart hurts for Charlotte.

My heart hurts for the people who feel sick and tired of being oppressed, discriminated against, and isolated.

My heart hurts for the people who resort to violence as an outburst of hate and pain. Nothing good comes from their brutality.

My heart hearts for the courageous police and their families; I cannot imagine the fear and anxiety they are facing.

My heart hurts for the innocent and precious children who are afraid and confused by what they are hearing.

My heart hurts for the rude, intolerant, and narrow-minded people who do nothing but segregate our country into groups based on the color of our skin.

My heart hurts for God—I know He is deeply troubled by our wickedness toward one another.

So what do we do? We love. We give. We talk. We hug. We empathize. We cooperate. We seek to understand. We apologize. We pray.

I’m not saying to ignore the violent protestors who are uncontrollably harming people and damaging property. There is no justification for their ruthless actions. It makes me angry to see how their behavior is putting others in danger and making us afraid.

But, it also makes me angry to see the media coverage of this issue. We don’t see all of the peaceful protests occurring. We cannot judge the African American community based off of the few cruel people that are using this event as an excuse to commit crimes.

There is much more good in the world than we see on TV. It’s easy to get overwhelmed and troubled by the amount of hate and violence we have seen in the past few days. Sin is strong, but our God is stronger.

It’s up to us to be nice to one another. It’s up to us to challenge the way we stereotype people. It’s up to us to get outside of our own little selfish bubble and be a friend to those who are hurting.

It’s up to us to pray for Charlotte, and pray for our world. Don’t be afraid. Don’t be discouraged. Our Father has the whole world in His hands, and His will prevails.

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” –John 16:33