In my June 14th post Triggered, I explored the issue of the media, its mental health effects, and the need to occasionally unplug due to the potential of retraumatization.
This week however, was extremely difficult to turn away from the succeeding events of Texas and Ohio mass shootings. In honor of those whose lives were lost, those injured, or those forever impacted by exposure to this event, you would never be forgotten, and are owed undivided attention.
It is a human condition to possess the ability to feel compassion for those we do not know. Seeing these innocent victims targeted by home grown hatred was infuriating and difficult to digest, knowing that this recurring scene may have been avoidable with the right preventative measures.
While thoughts are prayers are an expected political response, what seems more meaningful is action.
...action to stand behind the victims and grant them some form of reprieve, to have them feel important enough for their lives lost, or purpose of the lives for those who remain. How can we alleviate the loss of loved ones or the remorse for the rest, when our leaders turn a blind eye and find golfing and a sound bite the best recourse for continued tragedies.
Thoughts and prayers are insulting to many of us trying to make sense of the hearts and minds of those hateful enough to create this atmosphere.
It almost seems as though God's name is taken in vain because this has become a rhetoric without authenticity.
God has given us prayer as a means to connect with Him, lay down our burdens with Him, and receive clarity. Many of us simultaneously give thanks, while also asking of Him beyond the wishes of a genie, but of concrete and abstract yearnings.
In my prayer I ask:
Heavenly Father,
We come before you yet again with heavy hearts. It is extremely painful to repetitively witness the massacres of Your people. Please provide comfort for those who are impacted directly and impacted by our human connectedness. Give us strength to continue to honor those who are no longer with us, and for those who are, heal their hearts and minds to cope with the painful accompanied memories.
It is with great sorrow that we must come to you with the same prayers, but we ask of you more than comfort; we ask that there will be a greater change ahead. A change that will provide a greater sense of support and compassion by those in power, to make decisions regarding law and policy. We pray that you will open their eyes to see with empathy and put their political obligations aside.
We pray for policy to not only impact gun laws but to increase the need of honesty among American people. The large collective that ignores the threat of hatred and terrorism at our doorsteps must stop. We need to begin calling it what it is.....Terrorism and those responsible Terrorists. We need to break the chains of disparity and be honest with ourselves and our prejudices. These micro-aggressions and this new wave of emboldened hatred has awakened many a sleeping beast and we pray that there is a counter-discouraging message towards the hateful.
We rebuke the notion that all we can do is pray. You have not given us a spirit of fear and we know that we can do all through You. So we call out those moving on fear of losing political support and popularity, and hope our leaders can actually lead our nation into a greater sense of peace and civility.
In your name,
Amen.
#thoughts #prayers #action #civility #peace #leadership #fellowship #connectedness #love #tolerance #Ohio #Dayton #Texas #ElPaso #healing #endhate #endTerrorism
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