Today’s a new day! Sometimes I think I should stay silent and just keep the peace. But then I think if I choose to stay silent, will I cease to do good. I believe if we adhere to respectful silence, we provide space to those who are pushing forward false and harmful ideas. We create greater opportunity for the voices of error and harm to be heard and believed. God has gifted some of us with prophetic voices, ones that can issue a clarion call to the things that are true and good and pure and right and beautiful. We need to pray for those with this gift and encourage them to be brave and bold, yet marked by grace, love, humility, and kindness as they seek God for how to steward this gift. For others, we can each be loving truth tellers in the relationships and situations in which we have a platform. That may be within our families or our friend groups, within our schools, churches or our work places, and even on social media. No doubt, we will sometimes be met with criticism or rejection, even if we speak prayerfully and intending to speak peaceably. Jesus, who is the ultimate truth (John 14:6), likewise experienced rejection (Isaiah 53:3, 1 Peter 2:4). But if our goal is the well-being of others, then we will lovingly speak truth to them and risk offending them, for true life and blessing only come by way of truth. Edmund Burke said, “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” In keeping silent, we say nothing. And in our silence, perhaps we have ceased doing good. You and I have a voice. We have a platform, be it large or small. May God give us wisdom to know how to use our voices to bring honor to him and to bring good to others with wisdom, love, and kindness. ~OC
Embrace Silence
Today’s a new day! As I walk through this crazy beautiful health journey, one of the issues caused by my health battle is with my voice. As I write this morning, my voice is becoming weaker and weaker. Over the course of this crazy beautiful health journey, I have experienced many hours without a voice. While my voice issues have made it difficult for others to communicate with me, I have found amazing peace in my own silence. I love having the time to sit quietly with my thoughts and to sometimes just be present without thinking at all. I also love quietly watching what is going on around me without having to connect to the conversations. During the course of this crazy beautiful journey, I have grown to love the silence in my life.
In my silence, I have learned or reinforced many lessons that I already knew.
1). Silence allows me the time to create a beautiful container for my own thoughts. Sometimes the chatter that I engage in takes away my ability to be present and to trust my own thoughts and desires. The silence has given me the space to allow what God put in my heart to resonate more fully within me. The silence has allowed me to hear and connect with God in an intimate and powerful way.
2). As a Speaker, my voice was often used as a tool to tell stories and to connect with people. Dealing with voice issues, forced me to trust God and others in new ways.
3). As my voice became more of an issue, my love of writing became stronger. I have been blessed to write two books and start a blog. Issues with my physical voice can never silence me.
4). Vulnerability is a reality of life. Sometime illness takes away our ability to function; it also makes me realize how we sometimes need to rely on others. That’s not a sign of weakness. No, it’s just part of being human.
As I have shared, my health journey is a gift. A gift that keeps taking away so many things, but also allowing me to experience so many beautiful moments. Losing my voice has given me time to reflect and to make some decisions for how I will navigate my life a little differently. Perspective has come from the silence. Instead of me just speaking the words that come to me, I have had the opportunity to stop and take the opportunity to reflect before acting too quickly. Much can be learned in the space between the words (spoken or written).
My hope is that I will create a little more silence in my life as I continue to navigate this crazy beautiful health journey. I hope you take the time to experience the beautiful gift of silence in your own life. ~OC
400 Years After 1619
In 1619, slavery came to America. In December 1865, the 13th Amendment abolished slavery in America. In 1964, the Civil Rights Act was signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson. In 2008, America elected the first African-American President with the election of Barack Obama. America has come a long way in the 400 years since 1619. But have we come far enough? Yes, this post is about racism in America. For those of you tired of me writing about racism in America, you can skip over this post if you would like. But I hope you don’t.
When most of us think about racism in America, we think about the days of slavery. We think about the 1960’s and the Civil Rights Movement. A lot of people think racism ended with the passage of the Civil Rights Act. I wish that was the case. Sadly it’s not. In 2019, racism is sadly still alive and well in America. Let’s take a look.
In 2019, hate groups are on the rise in America. The latest report shows there are 1,020 active hate groups in America.
In 2019, some police officers are still stopping African-Americans for simply driving while black.
In 2019, people of color are still followed by some business owners when they enter a store.
In 2019, African-Americans are still held at gunpoint by some white people for simply being black. Even when that African-American is a police officer
In 2019, some white people still call the police on Africa-Americans for simply living life.
So how can we take steps to improve race relations in America? Here are some suggestions.
Do not be afraid to have conversations about racism in America.
Stand Up against racism when you see or hear it. Don’t be Silent.
Make sure your place of worship is having real conversations about race.
Visit and invest in African-American owned businesses.
Know your history. Visit African-American museums and civil rights site.
Pray. Ask God what you can do to help improve race relations in America.
These are just a few suggestions. Feel free to share and implement your own ideas. We have to continue having these conversations. Silence is not an option. At least not for me. ~OC
The Blessed Overcomer 