Racial Reconciliation is NOT a Cause
I had just walked into Chipotle when one of my Asian American colleagues pulled me aside. “What you said this morning hurt my feelings, and it felt really insensitive and a bit microaggressive toward Asians,” she said. I apologized with my lips, but my heart was furious. I knew this woman when she was a student and had been fighting for racial reconciliation since before she was in college. How dare she accuse me of being racist!
Let’s Act
My family traveled a lot, often in developing countries, when I was younger. My little sister would cry when we saw children begging on the street. I thought she was crazy. I couldn’t understand why she felt so emotional about people we didn't know. I believed we were doing all we could and that it was someone else’s responsibility to end systematic poverty.
What if We Actually Followed God?
Culture wars fascinate me. It seems the church culture finds the most hypocritical issues to fixate on.
Church culture seems obsessed with bathrooms but is relatively silent about women being raped and assaulted. The rights of a baker to refuse service to a gay couple is adamantly fought for, while children are ripped from their families and kept in detention centers. We care about respecting a flag while ignoring President disrespecting our values. Culture wars seem more about protecting the privilege our country has granted Christians, then standing for Jesus.
When Did We Stop Being Polite?
I was always taught to be polite. To think about how my words made other people feel and to not speak when my words were going to be hurtful. And while my sharp tongue often got me in trouble, my parents were quick to reprimand me.
On one such occasion, my father’s driver – Ishmael - drove me to my horseback riding lesson. We boarded my horse at the stable where I took lessons. I had gone to the stables more times than I can count. That day, I didn’t pay attention as Ishmael drove. I didn’t notice when Ishmael took a wrong turn. We got lost, and I was late for my lesson.
My response was to yell at Ishmael.
Thankful for an Invitation
I’m glad President Trump made derogatory comments about Haiti, El Salvador and African countries. His comments are a line in the sand that forces Christians to take a stand. God is clear about is command to love all people. When he made man and woman, he said that he “So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.” All people – from all countries – are made in God’s image. When we chose to denigrate God’s people, we are choosing to denigrate God.
Growing Up in Saudi Arabia
I was in sixth grade and living in Saudi Arabia when terrorists bombed the Al Khobar Tower there. I felt the blast shake the neighborhood where I was babysitting at the time. When the smoke cleared from the building, where many kids from my elementary school lived, 19 Americans were dead, and nearly 500 people from many countries were injured. I am now living in the U.S., and expecting a baby in just a few weeks. Over the last few months, I’ve watched terrorist attacks unfold in Beirut, Lebanon, in downtown Paris, and in San Bernardino, California. But here’s why I, as a pregnant, pale-skinned, freckled, blue-eyed, American woman who speaks with a Southern accent, am not afraid of Muslims, either for myself or for my husband and our child.
Invited To Follow
As a southern woman, I was taught the art of perfection. I was groomed to be polished – defined by acting with grace and being well mannered. The fear of changing the status quo was communicated by the celebration of history. Southern men were asked to protect the image of our culture. Southerner's value family, faith and patriotism. We worship a romanticized past. All of this creates a perfect picture. The picture is painted with various landscapes. The core of the picture is an idealized view of how we perceive ourselves.