I’m hoping back after a longer than anticipated break. I’m having a really hard time this week, y’all. I’m feeling very concerned about our country and our safety. How are you coping?
@Nataliekayh So sorry. You’d need to be blind not to be concerned, though this week’s headline violence is, for those of us who weren’t Charlie Kirk followers, mostly confirmation of an atmosphere that’s been growing.
I cannot offer hope or cope about our national politics. Staying focused on the local, like little Aria, is a start. But most of my hope comes from my Orthodox Christian faith. I have these reminders at the end of my morning prayers:
> Seeing, then, that we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith ….
Hebrews 12:1-2a
> Put not your trust in princes, in sons of men in whom there is no salvation. When his breath departs, he returns to the Earth; on that very day, his plans perish.
Psalm 145/146:3
> Honor all people. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king.
I Peter 2:17
> Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
Matthew 10:28
> Oh Lord of hosts be with us, for we have none other help in times of sorrow but Thee.
See Psalm 45:12
@ReaderJohn Thank you for a reminder of hope in times when it can seem hard to find. Knowing that God walks with us through times of darkness helps me to keep on facing the awfulness of this world when it would seem easier to try to escape reality into the dreamland of entertainment and false narratives.
@ReaderJohn thank you for the lovely post. Living through history is hard. I’m not sure what the future will bring but I hope we can find some common values that we can come together on.