It has been a day of heartbreaking contrasts.
This morning, I went on a run and then to a wonderful breakfast put on by Team World Vision, and I left inspired at what human beings can do for one another when we join together to fight for all people globally to have basic human rights (including access to clean water) and empower local communities.
When I got to my 12 year old son’s Tae Kwon Do studio to pick him up, I saw the news about the Tree of Life Synagogue. Later, my husband and I were talking about how terrible what happened was. My son asked what happened. When we explained, briefly, before we had even finished, he exclaimed, “What the heck?! Who would kill people when they were trying to worship God? Like, praying in a place of worship. Who does that?!”
Later this afternoon, we went to church. We prayed for the lives lost this morning, and this week in senseless acts of violence; we prayed for our community and our world. Afterwards, we went to our Harvest Festival, an event full of joy, centered around our youth. As I was watching my own kids in all their quirky adorableness, I wondered about the families whose lives have been changed forever today.
My son is right. People should be able to worship safely.
They should also be able to go to the grocery store safely. They should also be able to hold political opinions (and political office) without being worried about receiving hate mail or explosives. They should also be able to exist as who they are without having their identities questioned and their human rights denied.
And we who worshipped safely, made it home from the grocery store, don’t have our identities questioned, and hold fast to our political beliefs (maybe even expressing our thoughts about them occasionally). We who get to enjoy our beautiful families, we need to use our privilege to do better for those who are suffering right now.
Vote, donate, advocate, do something. Hold space, listen, be with those who are suffering.
But do something, use your privilege to advocate for those who have less privilege than you, rather than just for your own benefit and comfort. Things will only change if we push beyond our own comfort to reach out, in solidarity, with those who are suffering.