The Hugger

I'm a lover not a fighter.  My husband may dispute that but in all honesty, you know how some people love a good debate?  I. Do. Not.  At all.  I really find discord unnerving.  I find people who try to fuel discord unpleasant.  I like to keep the peace, not make waves. 

Sometimes though, I recognize that it is improper to just be quiet.  Sometimes it is not engaging in drama to speak your piece and sometimes it is totally appropriate to speak.

I am not the greatest advocate for my kids.  I am more about blending in with the cement brick of the school halls than I am about speaking up for my kids.  I am not proud of it and I am very thankful that the Husband is comfortable filling this role.  (Too comfortable at times, in my opinion.  Let's keep the waves down, shall we?!)

I am learning, though, that sometimes the greatest sin I can commit is one of omission, of not speaking out or up.  There is a poem on an Alfred Tibor sculpture at the seminary I attended in Columbus, Ohio that talks about how one ignored injustices done to other groups and then when they came for the subject, there was no one left to speak out on the subject's behalf.  (I wish I could find the exact text of the poem, google is failing me today!)   We can blend in and laugh along or we can go against the grain and speak out.  We can be part of the mob bullying the different person or we can be brave enough to stand up and say, "No." 

I try not to judge, but I do.  I try to find compassion, even for the person I disagree with.  I do not, you see, always know their story or motivation. They may feel or behave the way they do for a reason and we may never see eye to eye.  I am working to become alright with that, to accept that we all have different ways of being and that God has a reason for creating us all uniquely; wonderfully and uniquely. 

I am learning to stick my toes into the cold and murky waters, of speaking when it would be easier to remain silent.  I am reminded that I can do it because it is right and good and what God would want.  I can do it because the strength does not come from within me but from He who created all things.

Praying that in all things we can recognize God's call on our lives, when He calls us to speak and when he calls us to be silent.

-Peace