I am too young to sound this old, but I hurt for our nation. I was not alive during the Civil Rights struggle, and those decades of fighting, injustice and turmoil, so I cannot compare what happened then to what is happening, now. But I can read history and watch footage, and it feels pretty darned close.
When I was in college, the first day of one of my political science classes, I remember telling my roommate, Rebecca, “This woman is so liberal, I’ll probably fail the class because I can just tell she’s going to hate me.” This professor turned out to be one of my favorite professors, though. Yes, we had completely different beliefs and opinions, but she was fair. She challenged us. She pushed us.
I was meeting with her during one of her office hours and she had to take a phone call. As I looked around her office, there were photos of her with Bill and Hillary Clinton. Al Gore. I remember this hot feeling in my stomach starting to simmer, like a terrible conversation was about to take place, and she was going to tell me I did not belong in politics and would never fit in, or I didn’t have what it takes.
When she hung up the phone, I remember feeling how sweaty my hands were. She said, “Aimee, I loved your paper. You did such a beautiful job representing your point and the sources and research you showed was excellent. I am going to expect a lot from you. Whatever field you choose, you will be great, because you are hard working, determined and passionate. Don’t ever lose that fire burning within you. Strong women like you are what we need.”
I want to tell you that I graciously accepted her words of praise and the “A” she handed back to me, across her desk. Instead, the buildup of angst caused me to burst into tears, right there in front of her.
“What’s wrong? Why are you crying?” she asked me. “I thought you hated me and would hate my paper,” I told her.
“Why? Because we have opposing beliefs?” she asked me.
“Yes ma’am.” I replied.
Then she smiled at me and said, “If we were all the same, we would never bring change. We have to embrace differences, not shy away from them. I want to give you something.” She opened her briefcase, and reached inside and pulled out a leather, pocket sized Constitution. She said, “I want you to keep this with your makeup bag. Looks are one thing, but knowledge is better.”
She ended up being one of my favorite professors, as I would end up having another course with her a couple of years, later. She was tough on us, yes. But it was because she wanted to make us better. She wanted to challenge us to think outside of the box and dig deep into our purpose. She wanted us to embrace one another’s differences and pull from that, rather than push away.
This is just a teeny, tiny glimpse of what God does for each of us. When we face hard times and difficulties, we cannot simply believe God is being hard on us because He does not like us. Free will made that choice for us, in the Garden of Eden.
God allows us to go through challenges, but He breathes His strength into us, when we ask for it. Our differences should be embraced, and bring change.
I have been spending some time in Hosea, and cannot help but get chills when I see Jesus appearing, yet again, in the Old Testament.
“Come, let us return to the Lord. He has torn us to pieces but He will heal us; He has injured us but He will bind up our wounds. After two days He will revive us; on the third day He will restore us, that we may live in His presence. Let us acknowledge the Lord; let us press on to acknowledge Him. As surely as the sun rises, He will appear; He will come to us like the winter rains, like the spring rains that water the earth.” - Hosea 6:1-3 (NIV)
There Jesus was again, being predicted in the Old Testament. When Israel was unrepentant and in turmoil with turnover in leadership and battles. Kings being murdered while in office. Hosea writes about the struggles, the heartache, the turmoil of his people as they disobeyed God. Hosea writes about his wife’s unfaithfulness to him, and we see the imagery of Israel being unfaithful to God by worshipping Baal.
My heart aches with the turmoil amongst one another in our country, today. I have always loved the intricacies of politics, and began studying it at a very young age. But I cannot help but see myself as mourning for the souls being lost to Jesus, due to worship of one political party over another.
This time of turmoil, angst, hatred, vitriol and fear should be shaken out of every single one of us. We know that “on the third day, He restored us, that we may live in His presence. Let us acknowledge the Lord; let us press on to acknowledge Him. As surely as the sun rises, He will appear; He will come to us like the winter rains, like the spring rains that water the earth.” (Hosea 6:2-3)
Our differences need to be embraced, not shunned. But more than embracing the differences to allow room for change, we need to press on to acknowledge Jesus. We can be passionate about our beliefs while still being kind and loving.
It is still okay to have opposing beliefs. It is part of what makes America so beautiful. And it is okay to love politics, too. As long as we love Jesus, more.