Despair
“Temptation
is not [Satan's] strongest weapon. Despair is.”
Dennis
Garvin (Case Files of an Angel)
I wanted to write
something up-beat today after watching the Senate hearings yesterday.
I know everyone feels the need of a lift, as do I. Two things I want
to say about that; first, I feel incredibly sad that our system of
governance has come to this. It feels as though we are hopelessly
divided and broken. When two respected people are reduced to
groveling in tears before the whole world, we have lost our way in a
dark, dark forest. The second thing is, we can not give up. If you're
like me, you just want to pull a blanket over your head and shut out
the noise. But we don't have that luxury. It's important for each and
every American to open their eyes and look at where we've come—and
for once, not blame each other, but understand that this tragic
picture is of our own making.
Despair is a passage, not
a destination. But, from time to time, we seem to need to arrive at
despondency before we can turn around and climb our way out. I have
experienced this as an individual, in love relationships, and now, in
community. This is a sad time, and if we weren't sad, that would be
even more evidence of pathology. So we should take a little while to
enter and experience this passage, this sadness. But then we must
emerge, and move beyond it.
The blame game is
something that adolescents do. It's a juvenile defense mechanism to
never say, “Yes, I did that, and I'm sorry. What can I do to make
it right?” To always have a scapegoat is the hallmark of
immaturity. And we, as a nation, are in our adolescence. Maturity
will come when we are willing to take responsibility for our part of
the problem, and not before. This is true in all relationships,
whether personal or communal.
I hope and pray that we
will grow up before we destroy something truly beautiful. But sitting
back blaming someone else will not get us there. We all love this
country. Now, let's have a go at loving one another.
In the Spirit,
Jane
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