I’ve been having a little battle with my blog. I usually post Monday through Friday, but as I was typing these last couple of days, the words were unexpected. I thought this week I would go back to my lighthearted posts. I thought last Friday’s post was the last time I would discuss current events. After all, I spent most of my life ignoring them with a simple click of the television remote or by pressing the scroll button on my laptop. A friend texted me this morning, “No blog this week?” I have to admit, each day it gets easier to skip a post. Monday I struggled when the clock struck 12 am. I continued to write and decided it was okay that I was posting late. Eventually, I said forget it, but it wasn’t easy. Last night I threw in the towel at 11:30 pm.

Well, it’s 2 o’clock Wednesday afternoon. I’m not going to quit! Here’s my post for today (Monday & Tuesday actually):

There’s an obvious problem here in America– several, but one has been brought to the surface more so than it has in a long time. Why can’t we talk about it? All lives matter, YES, without a doubt AND there’s a problem that can’t be ignored. There’s something seriously wrong when black parents have to remove certain clothing from their children’s closets so they won’t be mistaken for criminals. There’s something seriously wrong when black parents have to teach their children, specifically their sons, how to respond when they are pulled over or approached by those who are supposed to serve and protect them. There’s something seriously wrong when I have to remind my black husband to not wear a hoodie when he’s walking the dog at night. You see, we live in a mixed neighborhood where there’s only a sprinkle of black people, so that hoodie may pose a threat even if it’s chilly outside and the man underneath that hoodie is bald. Well, he can just put on a hat then, right? Why should he have to change his wardrobe to make our neighbors comfortable? Because I love him and I don’t want anyone to hurt him because they thought he was a bad black person wearing a hoodie. There’s something seriously wrong.

Racism is a subject that makes just about everyone cringe. Some people nod in agreement and some people roll their eyes while either saying or thinking, “Here we go again.” By the way, there are some inaccurate statistics floating around Facebook. People aren’t even checking the facts before they post things nowadays. There’s something seriously wrong when people are trying to prove there is more black on black crime than any other crime. Or that more black people are killing police than police are killing black people. I guess somehow the injustice is justified by those false statistics. Is it really okay that those men were killed because according to statistics, black people kill black people?  Lord, we need you more than ever!

³⁰ And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. ³¹ And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these. (Mark 12:30-31)

We need the police! I have an uncle that was married into our family when I was 10 or 11. He was a Chicago police officer, but I think he’s retired now. I wanted him to be my father because when he was around, I knew I was safe. I knew he would do whatever he could to protect and serve. I believe most police officers are like my uncle. It’s crazy to think all police are bad, but the reality is their badges don’t tell us whether they’re good or bad. People are scared and rightly so.

We have to put our trust in God. As Christians we are to be led by the spirit. We are to love one another, but that doesn’t mean we ignore the problems, does it? We all matter! Does that mean when one of us have a problem we say, ‘we all have problems’? Loving each other means being able to focus on others instead of ourselves even for a moment. It’s not always about us. It can’t be.

We have to do better. We have to be different even if it makes us uncomfortable. If we are uncomfortable perhaps we should explore why. I’m not exempt . . .

I’m just blogging it out . . .Oh, and ask someone how they are doing and really listen!

Continue to pray for peace for our country and the families of Brent Thompson, Patrick Zamarripa, Michael Krol, Michael Smith, Lorne Ahrens, Philando Castile, and Alton Sterling.