I’m watching the nightly news a lot more now than ever before. I’ve been surprised and shocked to see angry mobs taking to the streets in cities all across America. I learned that all this unrest started as peaceful protests declaring “Black Lives Matter,” but “peaceful protests” erupted into violence after dark when new characters came out of the woodwork with piles of bricks and molatov cocktails to hurl at the police who were trying to keep the peace. I felt empathy for the peaceful protesters because I feel strongly that black lives do matter – all lives matter. My heart goes out to the poor and oppressed and I know a little of the history of black people in America. However, I was bewildered because these “peaceful protesters” were also carrying signs saying “Defund the Police” and were often injuring black policemen as well as white, even black children were sometimes caught in the crossfire. Small mom and pop stores in black neighborhoods were being destroyed as well as giants such as the Macys department store in downtown Manhattan, not far from the side street where I once lived as a struggling graduate student.
Why was I so shocked when, at the suggestion of a friend, I tuned in to the nightly
news and became aware of all this? I confess it’s
because I’ve always been an introvert more interested in learning about the
world from books than by watching the “boob tube,” and more interested in
studying God from afar than by actually living in the fallen world He created
and is redeeming. When I saw that Macys store I remembered so well, being looted and burned, I began to wake up,
wiped the ”sleepys” out of my eyes, and
began listening to God as He is speaking to me today.
Come back soon and I will tell you what I’ve been
hearing.
Written by
May Leavenworth
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