The Course Of True Love
Good morning... "The course of true love never did run smooth," says the Shakespeare-quoting sign above. True love is bumpy, up-and-down, back-and-forth, uncomfortably stretching for all committed to the course of compassion. "Good morning, Sue," she wrote after our impassioned post, A Mother's Perspective. "I understand that the woman who wrote this is a relative of policeman but, in my opinion, her response shows exactly how much policing needs to change." She went [...]
My Shocking Nightmare
Good morning... After writing yesterday's controversial post, A Mother's Perspective, I climbed back into bed, hoping for more sleep. That's when the wisdom of Ecclesiastes 5:3 (CEV) filled me full, integrating my mind, my body, and my soul. If you keep thinking about something, you will dream about it. If you talk too much, you will say the wrong thing. I must have kept thinking about all of the unrest in our city [...]
A Mother’s Perspective
Good morning... The quilt of our common ground is knit together with colorfully diverse patches. One subscriber's initial email, my response, and her return email below were exchanged after this week's post, The Fierce Urgency Of Now, a post which shed light on the death of Rayshard Brooks in Atlanta on Friday night. She wrote... As the protestors are “tired,” so are the relatives of honest policemen and police women, Sue. And those [...]
Teach Us Each Day
Good morning... As a wide variety of passionate people share with me very personal perspectives, God is building through us an honest online community. Yesterday's post, The Fierce Urgency Of Now, unleashed an avalanche of raw responses, covering most every inch of our fertile common ground. I will gradually unpack our various perspectives on the unrest across our nation over the days ahead, listening and learning whatever God yearns to teach us together. [...]
The Fierce Urgency Of Now
Good morning... Rayshard Brooks was fatally shot by a police officer in the parking lot of a Wendy's restaurant here in Atlanta on Friday night. Rayshard was twenty-seven years old, a father of three daughters and one stepson. Last night, protesters calling for reform took to the streets and closed down one of Atlanta's main arteries, interstate 75. From our television about fifteen minutes away, I watched the images of the Wendy's building [...]
In Silent Solidarity
Good morning... I sat uncomfortably in the ant-filled grass, sweating in the sun, experiencing last weekend's rally. I listened attentively to story after story of unkind treatment, derogatory comments, rampant racism recalled by recent grads. I wanted to be witness. I wanted to give support. I wanted to say with my presence, "You are heard. You are valued. You sharing your truth opens a pathway to healing." It was not my place to [...]
This Bedside Quote
Good morning... "I keep this quote by my bedside," she wrote, sharing words from Lisa Beamer, whose husband died on 9/11. "Who is becoming whole again on your watch? What is being healed by your influence? How is God redeeming His creation by way of your life?” Then she added, "And I pray for God’s grace to recognize the opportunities and respond with love." When there is an opportunity to love, I also want to [...]
Shed Healing Light
Good morning... One week ago today I turned in devotional thoughts to be shared with our church family. Now as a church member, the morning message appears in my inbox. Even in this one single week in the foreverness of time, I sense God illuminating more of me as I feel the growing edge of the Spirit expanding inside. ****** June 11th Devotional by Sue Allen The last time I sat close beside [...]
Our Way To Hope
Good morning... I feel drawn to share with you the uplifting words from yesterday's daily devotional sent from the Henri Nouwen Society. ****** Solitude is the Way to Hope by Henri Nouwen Intuitively, we know that it is important to spend time in solitude. We even start looking forward to this strange period of uselessness. This desire for solitude is often the first sign of prayer, the first indication that the presence of [...]
Children Will Lead Us
Good morning... "Hello all," a brave daughter of a subscriber wrote a letter to her extended family, giving me permission to share it with you. "I’m sure you all have heard of what’s happening in our country right now in the wake of the murder of George Floyd. I know that many of you hold very different political views than I do, and that’s okay, not everyone has to agree with everyone on [...]
Little Pockets Of Space
Good morning... Each morning we wake into a little pocket of liminal space, as we quietly cross over a new threshold, from what was to what will be. I set my alarm clock very rarely. Instead I love being woken when God's Spirit stirs me from sleep, coaxing me from my unconsciousness into the more conscious portion of my fertile brain. Some of my sweetest moments of the day are [...]
Use This Time Wisely
Good morning... The hands of the hand-painted clock above fell off long ago. This broken clock hangs on the wall in my spiritual direction space, an invitation for me to stay keenly alert for God's perfect timing, kairos versus chronos time. Chronos, clock-time, is the measurable sequence of seconds, minutes, and hours structuring our daily lives. Yet it seems to me, kairos time is the gravity grounding our world in palpable ways right [...]