Month: October 2018

It’s harvest season in the Midwest. Farmers are out day and night gathering their crops. After months of planting, caring for the soil and plants, and watching weather forecasts, it is time to see what has grown.

It is harvest time in our nation as well. For years we have planted seeds of personal attacks, anger, retribution, violence, and more. We have become a military complex that values might over compassion, winning over helping, and coming out on top at all costs.

Before you start saying we do more to help the world than any other nation or that we are the most charitable people on the planet, I will agree with the statistics.

But statistics are just that. They are numbers.

I’m much more concerned with heart than numbers.

What was it Jesus said? “”But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.” (Luke‬ ‭6:27-28‬‭ ESV)‬‬

What about Paul? “If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.” (1 Corinthians‬ ‭13:3‬ ‭ESV‬)‬‬

Every day I see people on my Facebook newsfeed condemning the other side about their hate while posting inflammatory remarks about the other side at the same time. I listen to the news where people scream at each other about anger. I see political ad after political ad focusing on fear about the other candidate rather than promoting the good they want to accomplish.

We are reaping what we sow. We are harvesting hate.

Like the farmers who plant corn, we have planted anger and hate. What else should we expect to harvest?

Yesterday’s tragedy in Pittsburgh is just one more example of what sowing hatred brings.

We will probably hear about gun control, mental health, religious intolerance, Trump’s tweets, and on and on. While those are all important topics, let’s not forget that change starts with each us.

How will we treat our neighbors?

How will we treat our enemies?

Will we fight fire with fire? Or will we instead try something different.

We need to stand for what we believe. We need to advocate for what we think is right. But we need to do it with spirit of love.

This does not mean we are soft. Real love, the kind that is hard to live, calls us to be both determined and patient, fierce and compassionate.

Kindness. Patience. Compassion. Love.

If we want to harvest peace instead of hate, these are the seeds we need to sow.

Have you ever found yourself wishing you could change something in the past?

A decision?

An action?

Something that happened to you?

We all have those moments where regret, shame, and what ifs haunt us.

The past is just that. The past.

It lurks in the rearview mirror, a reminder of what we wish would have been different.

Maybe you’re not like me. Maybe you don’t find yourself in moments where the past paralyzes you. I hope you don’t.

For those of us who do struggle with this, let me share what I continue to learn. There is only one way to healing. Being present in the now and moving towards the future.

Going the wrong way down a one way street will usually not end well. This is true in driving and in life. When we invest our energy in what ifs and should haves, we often miss what is right in front of us.

I still have a lot of work to do in this department and sometimes my regrets are the result of focusing on previous regrets. It can be an ongoing circle of self-destruction.

Yes, we must acknowledge the past.

Yes, we must learn from the past.

Yes, we must deal with the consequences from the past.

But none of these mean we need to dwell back there and try going the wrong way.

The only way forward is, well, forward. And turning back will only make the way forward even more difficult than it already is.