You all know me…and if you know me well enough, you know how I much I value that you have taken the time to read something that a journalism major turned nurse had the time to write on his day off the hospital floor. You know my race, my skin color, my Christian beliefs, my profession and the people I choose to surround myself with. If you don’t, even better, because that’s never what this was intended to be about…
The sub-headline for this piece is “My Christian perspective”. Keyword being, none of those words. You aren’t me, some of you aren’t Christian, and even if you were, we most definitely don’t share the same perspective. I would hope most of you would stop reading right here, because that’s the whole point of this. None of this makes sense and we will never agree, but for those struggling in this time to find a safe place in a country that felt like it got a lot smaller a few days ago, indulge with me. As your friend, as your brother, interpret as you will…
It was just a few weeks ago that a baseball team from the North Side of Chicago captivated the hearts of a divided country. In one November night, the Chicago Cubs became the sensation that turned 108 years of endless heart break into the 7th largest gathering in HUMAN history just 48 hours later. It has only been a few weeks since that historic night in November, but just a week later, Americans were once again reminded how much can change in one night. A man who has been labeled as “racist, bigot, sexist” and has become an artist of political rhetoric, was elected as President of the United States. As a Christian…as a decent human being, how are we expected to live with the choice of others whose “racist rants, sexist remarks, and bigotry” were louder than our cries for “peace, justice, and equality”? As a Christian…as a decent human being, who in their right mind honestly believes that a person labeled as such, could actually make a difference and represent our country? How would you defend your position? How would you defend your faith? How will you ever explain the last few weeks to your kids? How will these pages of the last few weeks go down in the history books?
It won’t be easy. It never was going to be easy. Take heart in that…
This is not a country of Christians, but myself as a Christian believes that this is a country of decent human beings. I know this because I live in it, as do most of you. I hope you’re still with me….I currently live in the state of California, a state that for the foreseeable future, will always be blue. I have worked in the state of Texas, a state that for the foreseeable future, will always be red. I have lived in a country that has suffered the oppression of racism through apartheid, whose greatest leader Nelson Mandela, was imprisoned for fighting for what was right. I am a 24 year old Journalism Major turned Nurse, who has gotten small tastes of things I never imagined possible and seen more than I have ever wanted to see. I have saved lives, as well as lost them. I have lead, and I have followed. I have loved, and I have lost. In recent months, I personally have not been proud of the decisions I have made in my life and the consequences I’ve had to live with because of them. It hurts every single day, realizing how my choices and the way in which I have spoken, have hurt certain people that I love very much. With what has occurred over the past few days, I believe a portion of America feels the same way for the exact same reasons.
If you are still with me to this point….What is the point to all of this? If I were to say that all of our hopes and dreams now depend on one person with a bad haircut and a foul mouth, I’d venture to say that you’d somewhat disagree. On the flip side, I’d also venture to say that some of you would agree that you don’t feel as safe as you did before November 8th. With that said, let’s pick up our bags and leave…we know a lost cause when we see one right? We're too broken, we're too divided... Let’s write off this country, just like we did our current President Elect. Oh wait, last time we did that…something else happened. Are we truly confident in making a similar decision just a few days later? Is that how little faith you have in a country that has survived acts of terrorism, racism, sexism, mass shootings, and a great depression? We’re getting closer to the point…
There is a story of a Man who was approached by leaders and religious people of His time with a woman who had been caught in the act of adultery. The law of the time was to stone people who committed such acts. The leaders that approached the Man asked one question of Him regarding the sinful woman…”Teacher, what do you say?” The man took his time to answer, but finally stood up and said, “Let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone”. The leaders and religious people who accused the woman got up and left. The man approached the woman and asked, “Where are your accusers? Didn’t one of them condemn you?”. “No.”, said the woman. “Neither do I”, said the man, “Go and sin no more”. The name of the Man in this story should go without saying, but if you aren’t familiar…His name is Jesus.
I ask America today, what do you say? This election, has made us all accusers one way or another. We are not perfect and if we were…then by all means, let’s stone those who have sinned in such manners. The president elect and myself included, have sinned enough in a lifetime worthy of being stoned to death. Who will cast the first stone? Until the day comes when we become more interested in literally stoning one another, rather than fighting for what we believe in…I will not worry. I will keep the faith.
So here’s the point. For those people out there still wondering how we do this…I don’t have an answer to that. We all have different perspectives. All I can say is, we can't open up our hands and care for one another if we have clenched fists and stones in our hands... As a Christian, I’m a believer in the process and things bigger than myself. What an opportunity to remind young people of how God works. What an opportunity to remind young people how much of a voice we have…and more so an awareness over the power of the type of things we say. Our past President’s message of Hope and Change shouldn’t be shaken because someone of a different skin color, background, belief, and temperament challenges our core beliefs and values. That’s what I would tell kids or anybody who doesn’t understand what has occurred over the past few days. It’s okay to be different. Words like Perspective and Hope should be emphasized more than ever. That’s what I hope history books say... After all, isn’t this what we’ve fought so hard for? Well, here’s our chance to prove its worth. This isn’t as much of an opportunity to change or be different as you may think, but more so an opportunity to prove to the world who we, as Americans are and have always been….and to do it PROUDLY. We are a people that come together and rise to the occasion. We are a people that have met tragedy with tremendous love. We are a people that believe we deserve more than what’s given to us…We now need to become a people who have the drive to go out in the world and make it happen. One positive that I pulled from election night was that Mr. Trump asked for EVERYONE'S help. Our help to become a better man? Our help to become a better country? All of the above or none of the above? To be honest, I’m not sure. All I know is that as a nurse, as an imperfect person myself, I don’t get to choose who my hands care for…I have to care for the racist and addict as equally as if it was Jesus himself. What an opportunity for Mr. Trump and more importantly an opportunity for the American people to love like Jesus. This process of becoming unified through division probably won’t happen overnight…but after these past few weeks. All bets are off. #imwithamerica
Love you all.
