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Peace and understanding. These two words have gone through my mind constantly for the last couple weeks. I have never experienced a week like I have this last week ever before in my life. I have been at times hopelessly confused, upset, angry, sad, enraged, hopeless, etc… I have felt just about every emotion I think that I possibly could.
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 As I write this I am thinking the anger, rage, hurt, disgust, everything we have seen unfolding nationwide, is reaching a boiling point. I uphold peaceful demonstrations, the peaceful protests but unfortunately it isn’t only peaceful demonstrations we are witnessing.
I hate seeing businesses being destroyed, and looted, I feel so conflicted when I see things being set on fire, rocks and chairs being thrown. I understand their hatred and anger, but I just don’t feel right about the violence, destruction and theft. I feel completely lost right now in how to feel. I feel for people of color who have inarguably faced systemic racism in our country. They have screamed and shouted, kneeled and peacefully assembled, seemingly to no avail. I don’t know what the answer is, but I just don’t think that looting and destruction is it.
I am a Christian to my core, and my thoughts on what might be the “right way” to creating and affecting change are derived from Jesus. One of his famous responses to being asked how to respond when someone slaps you is to “turn the other cheek.” He rebuked Peter for defending themselves when the Pharisees came to crucify him. Jesus demanded peace. Jesus affected incredible change, with peace and understanding. Jesus changed the world.
Jesus taught us that we are all equals, we are all equally loved. The change that Jesus made didn’t happen just because he said so, it happened because people listened to his words and followed his teachings. We need to listen to his words and follow his teachings now more than ever. Jesus spoke about how we are to treat one another. To love one another as he loved us. I don’t think we as Americans in general are living that way right now. I have never felt like I have lived in a more divided time. So many people are letting their political views, their religious views, relationship views, and familial views do nothing but drive us apart.
In a text message group I share with some of my closest friends, all of us share a wide variety of views on the happenings of the world. We share very different political views, religious views, and even familial views. We have talked at length about what has been going on in the US over the last week and to be frank my feelings are shared quite thoroughly through our group. We have exchanged some heated emotional words, but all of us are at a complete loss with what has happened and what is happening.
I think regardless of how we feel about anything, we can all agree, Jesus commanded us to love one another. As Christians, we are called to be leaders. I think it is time that we lead in a way Jesus showed us. Lead with love, lead with peace, lead with understanding. My head is in a very confused and disjointed place right now. But I am certain of this: I will struggle and fight to find peace through understanding in the coming days. And I ask that you try to do the same.
In peace,
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