The Weekend Witness
Post Election Faith, Pause, Reflect and Rest
blue skies anyway
The Obvious News
Number 45 will also be number 47.
The way to right wrongs is to turn the light of truth upon them. - Ida B. Wells, The Light of Truth: Writings of an Anti-Lynching Crusader
Post Election Faith
First, a note of thanksgiving to God that the election results were decisive and uncontested, with no mass violence, riots, or threats of violence. I am thankful there probably won’t be a January 6 repeat. I am thankful for so many who worked to ensure the voting process was protected.
I am thankful for the opportunity to serve on a voter protection team for my county. I met so many great and dedicated people who served our community. I observed polling places in two separate precincts and learned SO MUCH! I highly recommend the experience, especially for those with questions about the security of the voting process.
Way before Election Day I spent time in the Bible and in prayer for help to love my neighbors sincerely and from the heart, now matter how they chose to vote. I practiced setting my mind on things that are true, and discarding thoughts that showed up based on fear and suspicion alone. I did the soul work and still experienced, with many others, deep grief and personal re-traumatization that I did not see coming! But I did not panic because my faith informs and empowers me.
Through Christ, I can continue to support my neighbors who are grieving, distraught, numb, and without words. I can connect with and do good to my neighbors, whoever they are and however they voted. I can remain angry at injustice, oppression and slander. I can base my thoughts in reality and not fear. I can receive and practice peace. I can actively pursue love with accountability. I can keep doing the work. I can continue to pray for wisdom, discernment, and that justice will roll down on earth as it is in heaven.
My feet overlooking Linville Gorge, 2020.
Pause
No analysis, no regrets, but accepting the fact that news and information must take a backseat for now.
“The right word may be effective, but no word was ever as effective as a rightly timed pause.”
—Mark Twain
A walk in the woods with my dad Ashley Nature Preserve
Reflect
I am a journal-er, and one of my practices is to reflect on what I have gained after experiencing an intensely disappointing experience. So I offer you these questions I have asked myself in reflecting on this election season:
What insight have you (we) gained?
What questions do we still have?
What do we really want to understand better?
What has influenced our reactions to the election result?
Are we practicing love to ALL our neighbors in a greater or lesser degree in perceivable and tangle ways as a result of this election season?
How are you practicing gratefulness?
Rest
My rest involves a rake.
It involves scraping it across the dry earth, sweeping the crackly crunchy leaves of oak, hickory, redbud and maple into flower beds where their decay will nourish the earthworms and soil, and will provide a rich womb for birth, renewal, and fruitfulness.
My little friend hanging out, waiting and watching for lunch.
Sorting Outerwear: Two Piles
Avoid constructive feedback from people who’ve never constructed anything.
-Tim Ferris, The Stoic Podcast.
That’s it for now, friends! I leave you with November Blue which maybe my favorite Avett Brothers tune.
