Sometimes Im especially glad to see the rising of the sun. I’m always grateful that The Lord allowed me to remain in the land of the living. That’s a given. But then again, there are the times I’m just glad that the day before is over. Today is one of those times ! I’m glad to see a new day with new opportunities to change the mistakes of yesterday. A new chance of getting goals accomplished and dreams realized – or at the very least, the chance to get closer to them. Selah (quietly meditate on that)
“Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning. [II Cor. 4:17.]”
Psalm 30:5 AMPC
Isn’t that an encouraging scripture ! When you and I reflect on what has happened in the past few days, the Tulsa shooting, the bombings in NY and NJ and the unrest in Charlotte (over yet another fatal shooting)- I think that we can all agree that this country needs more hope and encouragement.
More importantly I would venture to say that we need more people praying for effective change and the healing of our national heart. And you don’t have to be a priest or pastor to pray for the nation. In fact God speaks of this specifically in the book of 2 Chronicles:
“if my people, who are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.”
2 Chronicles 7:14
I take these incidents of ‘police involved fatal shootings very personally. Why ? Because I have two, young African American men in my life – my younger brothers. Everytime I see a video of an African American man end up dead in a police encounter- I think about them and I agonize over their safety. In addition to that I usually don’t sleep well after all the news coverage of that day’s events. The fact is that these things are traumatizing to the conscience. By the way it’s traumatic for both White and Black Americans alike. When anyone black or white sees the loss of life in a senseless manner- it should shock the senses and grieve our spirits. When we are witnesses to violence and death (and terrorism) – we must not ever become desensitized to it. We should be moved enough to want to change it.
Here’s where the joy of a new day comes in .
- The best way to get rid of the horrors of yesterday is to embrace the power of today ! In my point of view a new day represents an amazing opportunity to “be the change you want to see in the world ” -Mahtma Gandi . Each and everyone of us who wants to see a noticeable difference in the world, must start first with ourselves. Here’s a small list of examples:
- On occasion take the time to go out of your way through small acts of kindness and be kind to a stranger. Give a meal or a couple of dollars to help the homeless person you see- standing outside of a grocery store or on a street corner.
- Pick someone with whom you disagree with (a co-worker, friend or yes even an law) and invite them out for coffee and have a sincere conversation with them. Done with the Spirit of forgiveness and reconciliation- you’ll probably make a new friend or at least understand each other better than ever before.
- As much as you can , put aside your biases and preconceived notions about the people that you come in contact with everyday; this especially applies for the people who are of a different race or religion – division and strife cannot dwell in a heart that’s open to all people.
The best thing about the new day and the old version of the night- is that the new day gives you and I the blessing of doing better than we did the day before. When the night gives way to the morning light of renewal and rebirth, we can start over with the rising sun.
Take the birds for example. Regardless of what storm that raged through the night before, maybe a few broken eggs or a nest that blew out of the tree in the first stormwinds- the birds chirp on, and sing their songs in spite of it. Upon noticing this phenomenon almost a year ago – I prayed: Lord give me the spirit of the birds. I wanted to have the kind of spirit that would allow me to sing through every night’s storm of adversity.Wouldn’t you love to have the strength of the birds and be able to sing despite what storms and situations that you’ve faced the day or night beforehand? I certainly would.
In yet another season of chaos, violence and unrest in the country; I just wanted you to remember that “we the people ” don’t have to merely be spectators. We’re all witnesses and we can judge whether to be blind and deaf to what we’re seeing. Or make the honorable choice of being change agents. The choice is ours.
One act of kindness and understanding may seem small and not enough to effect the change we need. But collectively, these small pepples thrown into the River of Change ; to create a national ripple effect that’ll reverberate through the night and bring us to a new day of national song of togetherness.
I challenge you to give the steps above a sincere try and not just for a day ; give a try for a week or two and maybe even a month. It won’t be easy but I promise you that it’ll pay off in dividends !
Have a great day and may you sing along with the birds in the morning !
I leave you with video: Ain’t No Need to Worry by The Winans featuring Anita Baker
Ain’t No Need to Worry
As Ever,
L. Foxx-Newman
