What I'm going to do.

​I can't control what other people do (or don't do).
I can't make grown adults/elected officials cooperate and do what is best and what is right.
I can only control what I do -
So here it is:

I'm going to listen more and talk less.
I'm going think before reacting.
I'm going to be more cognizant of, and sensitive to, the divides that have grown so deep in our culture - and there are many.
I'm going to actively support and pray for people who are committed to moving us forward.
I'm going to amplify the voices of those who need to be heard; stand with those who need someone to stand with them.
I'm going to speak the truth in love when it needs to be spoken.

I am NOT going to stop trusting people.
I am NOT going to shy away from taking risks and reaching out, even if it means getting burned.
I am NOT going to live out of anger or vindictiveness.

I'm going to hold on to hope, stubbornly so, because I believe what we're experiencing right now in our state, our country and our world are the "last gasps" of the old way of thinking and living; and the real progress that's been made over the past few decades toward positive growth and lasting change scares that old way to death, and one simply cannot live in fear forever.  As Frederick Buechner puts it: the worst thing is never the last thing.

I'm going to celebrate the birth of Christ in a few days with great joy and gratitude because the world Jesus was born into was a world rife with discord, deep divides, painful injustices, saber-rattling from the powers-that-be, and grand uncertainty for the future - and that world back then sure sounds an awful lot like our world now.

 I'm going to do my damndest, as much as my frail humanity allows, to live out of and live into love.

I know that's a lot to try and do.
But I'm gonna give it a shot.
Care to join me?

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