Wednesday, I got the opportunity to speak at our Wednesday night church Prayer Meeting. This isn't really a big deal, but my boss/pastor wanted me to preach so he could critique me and help give me pointers to make me better in the long run. Unfortunately, on Monday I developed a sore throat and have yet to get rid of it. I felt so bad yesterday that I was to the the point I didn't really care what I said, I just wanted it to be over so I could go home and get back to bed. It didn't go as well as I had hoped, actually it was far from it, but it was a learning experience and I doubt I'll ever get a chance to speak when I feel 100% and can focus solely on that.
Our small town has recently been in the midst of some pretty strong controversy. There's been a racial divide in our community for a long time, but it has kind of bubbled up to the surface. There was a movement to rename the main thoroughfare in town Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard instead of the traditional Pine St. The biggest problem was touted as being the way the council members went about bringing this up, as a kind of back-room deal, but really the issue runs much deeper than this. The vote was showed to have been done against some of the city ordinances so they revoted and the issue didn't pass. The horrible thing in all of this is that some of the council members received death threats from some of the more redneck outspoken people of our town. The racism is just running rampant in our town, led by many of the fine outstanding "Christian" citizens. On top of that the county is voting in November on whether or not to allow the county to go wet (sell alcohol). These two issues have brought out the terrible side of folks in this city. It continues to amaze me how we get so bent out of shape over the little things. Are we on our deathbeds really going to look back and think, "Man, if only I'd kept the county from going wet."? Odds are we're not. A friend once told me to look at issues in light of their eternal relevance. This advice has helped keep me from sweatin' the small stuff, and trying to look at the big picture instead of getting bogged down in the little details. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying we shouldn't have or express our own opinions because I fully believe we should do both, but I do think we should do so out of an attitude of respect and tolerance. Not the way the Rev. Terry Jones is professing to. Sorry for the soap box today, but this has just been really getting under my skin lately. I just can't believe that some folks feel the name of a city street is worth killing someone over.
On another note, something amazing happened the other day as well. Like I mentioned above, I'd been feeling sick all week, and had posted something on facebook to that effect. JC, my adopted mom, saw my post then sent me a text message (she's normally part of the non-texting crowd) and told me she was going to run to the pharmacy and get me medicine, checked if I had eaten, and that just completely overwhelmed me. It's been so long since I had a "Mom" to look after me. I was just taken aback at the love she showed, and it just filled my heart with joy and heartache all at once. While I mourned the lack of my own mother, I rejoiced at the care and tenderness JC showed. She has no idea how much better her simple action made me feel. And she also sat through my sermon Wednesday night, which is a loving act in and of itself. I just thank God for the blessing of my adopted family. I've been extremely homesick lately, and they have just taken me into their arms, fed me, and made me feel at home here in the foriegn land of Arkansas. The love they, and others, have shown me has helped balance out my frustration at all the junk that's been going on here lately. I really do love my adopted family! They'll probably both kill me if they ever read this though, and JC just hates this pic :)
Our small town has recently been in the midst of some pretty strong controversy. There's been a racial divide in our community for a long time, but it has kind of bubbled up to the surface. There was a movement to rename the main thoroughfare in town Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard instead of the traditional Pine St. The biggest problem was touted as being the way the council members went about bringing this up, as a kind of back-room deal, but really the issue runs much deeper than this. The vote was showed to have been done against some of the city ordinances so they revoted and the issue didn't pass. The horrible thing in all of this is that some of the council members received death threats from some of the more redneck outspoken people of our town. The racism is just running rampant in our town, led by many of the fine outstanding "Christian" citizens. On top of that the county is voting in November on whether or not to allow the county to go wet (sell alcohol). These two issues have brought out the terrible side of folks in this city. It continues to amaze me how we get so bent out of shape over the little things. Are we on our deathbeds really going to look back and think, "Man, if only I'd kept the county from going wet."? Odds are we're not. A friend once told me to look at issues in light of their eternal relevance. This advice has helped keep me from sweatin' the small stuff, and trying to look at the big picture instead of getting bogged down in the little details. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying we shouldn't have or express our own opinions because I fully believe we should do both, but I do think we should do so out of an attitude of respect and tolerance. Not the way the Rev. Terry Jones is professing to. Sorry for the soap box today, but this has just been really getting under my skin lately. I just can't believe that some folks feel the name of a city street is worth killing someone over.
On another note, something amazing happened the other day as well. Like I mentioned above, I'd been feeling sick all week, and had posted something on facebook to that effect. JC, my adopted mom, saw my post then sent me a text message (she's normally part of the non-texting crowd) and told me she was going to run to the pharmacy and get me medicine, checked if I had eaten, and that just completely overwhelmed me. It's been so long since I had a "Mom" to look after me. I was just taken aback at the love she showed, and it just filled my heart with joy and heartache all at once. While I mourned the lack of my own mother, I rejoiced at the care and tenderness JC showed. She has no idea how much better her simple action made me feel. And she also sat through my sermon Wednesday night, which is a loving act in and of itself. I just thank God for the blessing of my adopted family. I've been extremely homesick lately, and they have just taken me into their arms, fed me, and made me feel at home here in the foriegn land of Arkansas. The love they, and others, have shown me has helped balance out my frustration at all the junk that's been going on here lately. I really do love my adopted family! They'll probably both kill me if they ever read this though, and JC just hates this pic :)
I hope you feel better ruth. it's great that you have a mother figure in your life. I know what you mean. I always like to have someone around when I am sick to help me out. Anyways great post. I would write more,but truth is I am just so dead tired.
ReplyDeleteThanks Lyndsie! I'm feeling a lot better today...I started writing this on Wednesday, and just now got it posted. Get some rest!
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