Starting Again: Picking Up the Pieces Following a National Tragedy
It’s been an emotional week for me, following Charlie Kirk’s death. I wasn’t a huge follower of his. Like most people, I saw video clips here and there, but I don’t follow many individuals closely. I have learned to be careful about putting people on a pedestal. But the violence committed against this man for his opinions, and the celebration of his death by some, disturbed me greatly. It revealed a darkness in the hearts of my fellow Americans I didn’t even know existed. I have been so incredibly grieved that I have spent a great deal of time in prayer — out of compassion for Charlie’s family, for my own objectives in life, and for the heart of our nation.
I have also been inspired by the many videos coming out from people who are experiencing an awakening and a call to faith in light of this horrific event. I don’t believe everyone has to align with Charlie Kirk to see that something is deeply broken and aim for the betterment of civil discourse. I have spoken out multiple times about the growing hatred being perpetuated by the media, and my prayer is that people would stop allowing themselves to be slaves to vitriol. We don’t have to agree politically, but we should all agree that enacting and celebrating political violence is not the answer to creating a better society. We are blessed to live in a nation that always welcomed civil discourse, and hopefully, we can turn back to what made us stand out from other forms of government and begin to treat each other with less contempt and more grace.
In the meantime, I have a difficult time returning to my normal rhythm of posting. It seemed impossible to me to allow life to go on as usual before taking the time to reflect. Suddenly, promoting my book, celebrating the season, and sharing beautiful thoughts or photos took a backseat to spending time with God in serious reflection. I refuse to let the injustices of this world harden my heart. Not only in my outlook on the world, but even against my political adversaries. The only thing that matters is Christ, and if anything comes out of this for me, it is my allegiance to Him and Him alone, along with my desire for others to know Him.
But I can’t tell people about the love of Christ without first showing His love. And for me, that always starts with prayer. My prayer is for eyes to open, for my heart to remain soft but bold, that darkness would be exposed, that evil plans would fail, and that the light of truth would shine. So that’s where I have been and where I’m going. As Anne said, “Tomorrow is always fresh, with no mistakes in it yet.” It’s not too late for us to start again. That invitation to begin anew is extended to all of us. And here is the promise…
“I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. Then you will live in the land I gave your ancestors; you will be my people, and I will be your God.” (Ezekiel 36:26-28)
Let’s choose wisely.
