Good morning…
Waking in the wee hours of this July 4th, I snap a photo of the full moon beaming bright above our darkened world. Fourth. Full moon. Freedom for all.
My mind is drawn back to a phrase shared in our blog post a few days ago: “Trail of Tears.”
“The Trail of Tears was an ethnic cleansing and forced displacement of approximately 60,000 people of the “Five Civilized Tribes” between 1830 and 1850 by the United States government,” says Wikipedia. “As part of the Indian removal, members of the Cherokee, Muscogee (Creek), Seminole, Chickasaw, and Choctaw nations were forcibly removed from their ancestral homelands in the Southeastern United States to newly designated Indian Territory west of the Mississippi River after the passage of the Indian Removal Act in 1830. The Cherokee removal in 1838 (the last forced removal east of the Mississippi) was brought on by the discovery of gold near Dahlonega, Georgia, in 1828, resulting in the Georgia Gold Rush.”
“The relocated peoples suffered from exposure, disease, and starvation while en route to their newly designated Indian reserve,” explain the facts. “Thousands died from disease before reaching their destinations or shortly after. Some historians have said that the event constituted a genocide, although this label has been rejected by others and remains a matter of debate.”
To help to process the “Trail of Tears” which shapes our interdependence on this Independence Day, I create three interrelated Soul Collage Cards. What aspects of these images beg most for your attention?
Resting within the shelter of your innermost being, might you take the stirrings of your soul and turn them into a personal prayer with God?
God’s your Guardian, right at your side to protect you — shielding you from sunstroke, sheltering you from moonstroke (Psalm 121:5-6, MSG).
…Sue…
