BY DOVE
I shared with you before about the Johnson girls in my high school when I was growing up. Grace, Faith, Hope and Charity were all sisters. You guessed it, their father was a minister in the small North Idaho town in which I grew up. Now, these girls were beautiful on the inside and outside and I was in awe of their beauty and kindness. As we celebrate Father’s Day, I often wonder where the minister had the courage to make such a statement as to name his children by the above attributes. He truly surrounded himself with the qualities he wished to experience. It took a lot of “I don’t care what people think. My Faith is strong enough to be different.”
I have no idea whatever happened to the girls, but I can still see them in my mind. They were unforgettable in my book. I ask you, what have you stood for that is unforgettable in your life, not for anyone else but for yourself? Have you had the courage to be different, to move out of the accepted norm? What if someone notices me? Is invisibility the best course of action? Maybe I can just stay comfortable. What if you had the courage to stand largely for truth, justice and fairness and powerfully vindictive people wanted to take you down? Would you still stand?
I watch what is going on in our country and I marvel at the injustice from my perspective. I ask myself, would I be willing to tolerate being treated with injustice and still keep my faith? Would I be willing to hold firm to my truth when everyone around me tries to ridicule my position? I don’t know. I rarely put myself in those positions.
Now is the time for all of us to decide what we are going to support. Truth and justice: Is everyone is governed by the same laws or is it who has the most money and influence and greases the palms of officials to give them the results determined to be the most advantageous to the controlling interests? From my perspective, now is the time to educate yourself, family and friends to truth, if you can find it.
Think first, and when you feel truth in your gut, you can speak it. Otherwise, be silent. Take a stand only for those truths you embrace. I believe all must be treated equally regardless of color, religion, sexual orientation, education and financial position. Be prepared for truth to come forward and it may not be pretty, but we must come to a common justice for all.
May we be guided by truth, fairness, justice and hope for everyone. Blessings, Dove