This post is the third in a series I’ve been writing about things I never understood about racism. You can read the previous posts here and check out the anti-racism resource page for further learning. I used to say that the first time I saw racism was when I moved from a diverse community of military families in Okinawa, Japan, to the coastal town of Jacksonville, NC as a Junior in high school. Overt forms of racism were easy to pick out there:...
There are moments when all of us feel alone and forsaken, burdened “beyond our ability to endure” (2 Corinthians 1:8). Life can feel like way too much fo us. We cry out with the Psalmist: “Be not far from me, for trouble is near, and there is none to help.” (Psa 22:11 ESV) In this Psalm, David goes on to vividly describe how he feels surrounded by attackers, how his “heart is like wax,” and his strength is dried...
My sweet neighbor and friend, Lila, died from complications from lung cancer this week. She was in her late seventies. She read this blog, encouraged me, and told me stories about her life and her grandchildren. She even came to my art opening last month at a little local shop. The first week we moved into the neighborhood, she came over with some roses she and her husband had grown in their backyard. She was a beautiful person and...
Today was the last day of school for my girls! They’ve both grown so much this year, and now I’m excited to spend the summer going to the city pool and being off our routine. I also plan to work on a series of watercolor paintings for a First Friday art show at a local shop downtown in August (The Lady Jane if you’re local). If I get really productive, I may offer some paintings in the shop, too!...
This is part two of my series about things I never understood about racism. You can read part one here or watch the introduction to the whole series here. My anti-racism resource page is also up and under construction. Today, I’m talking about how I never understood a precise definition of a racist idea. Now, it might seem silly to even have to define a racist idea, but as I read, interact with people on these issues, and examine...
One practice that has been helpful in my spiritual life in the past few years is to increasingly pause in the multitude of my thoughts and anxieties, and ask, “God, what do you want to say to me right now?” “Incline your ear, and come to me; hear, that your soul may live; and I will make with you an everlasting covenant, my steadfast, sure love for David.” (Isa 55:3 ESV) It’s a discipline that I’m growing in. It...