This is a conversation I have been having with myself for a while. It is also one I have hesitated over and over to write about. I think that may be true because despite how often I have had this conversation with myself I still don't have the answers. Because of this, today I want to invite others into the conversation.
This morning as I sit at my computer, my newsfeed is filled with anger, pain, and destruction. Once again the phrase "Black Lives Matter" is everywhere and I am broken hearted. Black lives do matter. This concept has had a profound impact on my life as we are in the middle of an international adoption based in Africa.
How do I raise my children in a world that looks like this? I was always taught that men and women in uniform were to be trusted, yet I also as an adult believe that police brutality is a real thing. I also believe that you can not judge an entire group based upon the brutality of a few. I hold this same belief in reference to african americans. Not all black people are looters and rioters. Yet, I believe that many are responding incorrectly to this police brutality. Destruction and looting are not the answers. The news seems to have forgotten to include those who are standing for their cities. Those who are protecting homes and businesses despite having no obligation to do so.
Racism is still real. In a country that claims to be one of the most progressive in the world, it is still prevalent. It is something I desperately want to protect my children from, yet I do not want them to be sheltered from the world. I want to raise children who are proud of who they are, who honor their African heritage. I desperately desire to live in a world that can celebrate what makes us different rather than condemn it.
I love people. I believe all lives matter. We are all children of God, yet we live in a fallen world. In this moment I am glad I serve a God who is bigger than our messes. So today, I am turning off the news. I am praying for black lives, for white lives, for police lives, for our lives, for our children's lives. May God guide us as we navigate how to parent in a messy world.
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