November 9, 2016
November 8, 2016. Election Day 2016. A historic day by any measure.
But that was yesterday.
Today.
I write here not because there are more words needed as we collectively process what has just happened. Already I have been inspired by words more articulate and powerful than I can put forth. Words that I needed in order to get myself up, out of bed, and a tiny bit more equipped for the time ahead.
If you need a little equipping yourself, these are the voices that made all the difference for me today:
President Obama speaking today from the White House
Still We Rise by Glennon Doyle Melton
And from my fierce daughter Haley... hers, posted on FB, were the first words I read this morning:
"It's hard to know what to say this morning. I am sad, I am grieving, and I know that because of how I look, how my family looks, we will likely come through this mostly unscathed. But that does nothing to ease my heartache. It does nothing to ease my grief.
My heart aches for the marginalized, for the people of color, the disabled, the immigrants, the LGBTQ community, the Muslim community, for everyone who does not fit into a white heterosexual box. As a Christian it is not my job to make sure I vote so that this country adheres to my personal faith beliefs. It is my job to love you, to consider you when I vote, to vote for my neighbor, for the orphan, the alien, and the poor in our midst.
I am deeply sorry and I will spend the next four years listening, acting, loving, and fighting for you."
Today.
I write here because I need to hold myself to a higher standard than the lower one that is pulling on my shirttails. That lower standard is the one fueled by fear, blame, rage, and hatred. I write here because I refuse to be pulled down, and the only way I know how to rise up is to drive my stake deep into the ground and hold on for dear life.
Today.
I write here because I need to give voice to my commitments.
In the wise, quiet words of my husband this morning, our job now is not to project what might happen, worry about what could take place, or imagine the worst possible outcomes. That only fuels the fear and fans the flames of hatred and blame that have burned recklessly across this broken, beautiful country of ours.
Today.
I write here because I need to remember what I said I would do today, so that I don't forget what I said tomorrow.
I commit to choose love over fear. Every time. And I know it will be hard.
I commit to listen deeply, especially to those who see it differently. And I know that it will be hard.
I commit to choose love over fear. Every time. And I know it will be hard.
I commit to speak out against injustice when I see it, and to speak up for the rights of all. And I know that it will be hard.
I commit to choose love over fear. Every time. And I know that it will be hard.
I commit to abstain from name-calling, poison dart throwing, and stone slinging. And I know that it will be hard.
I commit to choose love over fear. Every time. And I know it will be hard.
I commit to work for the good of all and the leaving behind of none. And I know that it will be hard.
I commit to choose love over fear. Every time. And I know it will be hard.
Today.
Now is the time. Here is the place. This is what we have.
Let's choose love over fear. Every time. Even though it will be hard.
Because love trumps fear. Every time.
"Well, I don't know what will happen now. We've got some difficult days ahead. But it really doesn't matter with me now, because I've been to the mountaintop."
- Martin Luther King