Be the Light

"We lift our gaze not to what stands between us,
But what stands before us.
We close the divide because we know to put our future first,
We must first put our differences aside…

Let the globe, if nothing else, say this is true:
That even as we grieved, we grew.
That even as we hurt, we hoped.
That even as we tired, we tried.
That we’ll forever be tied together, victorious.
Not because we will never again know defeat,
But because we will never again sow division.

Because being American is more than a pride we inherit.
It's the past we step into and how we repair it…
While we have our eyes on the future,
History has its eyes on us.

We will rebuild, reconcile, and recover…
When day comes, we step out of the shade, aflame and unafraid.
The new dawn blooms as we free it.
For there is always light, 
If only we're brave enough to see it.
If only we're brave enough to be it."

~Excerpts from "The Hill We Climb" by Amanda Gorman, National Youth Poet Laureate (read today at the Inauguration Ceremony for President Biden)

I got to watch some of the ceremony this morning, and I'm very thankful that it went smoothly and that I've not heard of any large-scale violence or chaos today.  As the youngest person to ever speak/perform at a Presidential inauguration, I was impressed with Amanda and wanted to share some of her words here.  

I am praying for healing and peace for our divided country and especially for our divided church.  That we might have eyes to see the light and to "separate the light from the darkness."  That Christians would step up with love and power and be the light, like Jesus told us and like the poem above says.

The ongoing pandemic has made most of us feel somewhat disempowered and more helpless than we prefer.  For a myriad of reasons, there is an intensified level of fear and acrimony on both sides of the political spectrum, and sincere love for God and others is at a painful low in our nation.  Although God allows us to reap the consequences of what we've sown individually and as a nation, He also offers us power and love and a sound mind!!  And I'm hoping and praying that we will step into that more and more, walking in love and wisdom and a confident authority that comes from Christ!

I'm praying the following verse for our country today...

"May the Lord bless you and take care of you.
May the Lord be kind and gracious to you.
May the Lord look on you with favor and give you peace."

~Numbers 6:24-26 ❤