In my younger years, I would often seek quiet chapels to center and ground myself. There, I would face the elements banging about me… the inner … and the outer, which I had little control over.
This week, I went to our volunteer refugee resettlement storage unit -a space ‘given’ to us by one of the agencies we help.
My ‘chapel’ of choice if you will…
This space allowed us to gather, organize and disseminate massive amounts of goods to needy families. It reinforced our mission that the community works together to solve the hard situations we face.
I went this week, because I had to be there. I needed to put my feet on ‘holy ground…’ just so that I didn’t get sucked into the chaos.
What I witnessed was workers packing up the last of the collections, workers dealing with layoffs from the most recent budget cuts and executive orders… still focusing on others… still working to make someone else’s life just a little bit easier.
It was heartbreaking and soulwrenching to witness; yet, at the same time… it was a profound witness of the goodness of humanity.
This reality our country finds ourselves in, I do not understand how these changes ‘Makes America Great Again.’
We went from 6 people… to almost 300 volunteers… who donate goods, collect goods, clean and refurbish goods, organize and deliver goods… so that a house can become a home …
So that those who have been running can (maybe) finally lay their heads down in peace…
Instead, because of the chaos administered on this country, volunteers are ‘losing’ their mission. Dedicated employees, who are working in not-for-profit level positions, are losing their jobs. You cannot pay your people when the budget gets cut…when funding is withdrawn.
It is beyond challenging to not get sucked up in the chaos, to not want to lick our wounds and react to the cruel actions being executively placed on us as a nation.
It is even harder to hold on to hope. But I believe, as history has shown, that taking hope out of the picture and replacing it with chaos is the perfect recipe for the destruction of good.
I, for one, am allowing myself ONE hour a day to stay informed. I don’t want to live in ignorance. Then, if I cannot fix it, I must let it go. There is SO MUCH I can be proactive about. And there are even more people who share a vision of equity and justice. We are strong. We just need to hold onto our focus and not be distracted or discouraged by the chaos. Remember, the chaos is intentional…
In those younger years, when chapels were my choice of refuge, I’d often hear a song entitled, Companions on the Journey. That is certainly what we are right now.
A journey that none of us can predict the future of. But that is okay, as long as we focus and hang on to the vision we’ve been given. As long as we focus and use our gifts of creativity and goodness. As long as we focus and hang on to each other.
