Think of All the Love
It says in Ecclesiastes 3:8, “To everything there is a season…a time to love, and a time to
hate; a time for war, and a time for peace.”
At the risk of sounding like a beauty pageant contestant, I
am really praying for world peace this week.
With North Korea testing ballistic missiles and Syria reportedly dropping sarin gas bombs not
to mention ongoing conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, while I acknowledge that war
is sometimes justified, I am still rooting for peace.
I am rooting for peace for so many reasons not the least of
which is the importance of life. In last
week’s blogpost, I raved about Ta Nehisi Coates’ award winning book, Between the world and me. There were so many vignettes in this book
that I liked. One in particular was
about a young friend of his whose life was cut short as a result of an incident
of police brutality. The young man’s
name was Prince. Coates writes:
Think of all
the love poured into him. Think of the gasoline expended, the treads worn
carting him to football games, basketball tournaments, and Little League. Think of the time spent regulating
sleepovers. Think of the surprise
birthday parties, the daycare and the reference checks on babysitters. Think of
World Book and Childcraft. Think of checks written for family photos. Think of credit cards checked for vacations.
Think of soccer balls, science kits, chemistry sets, racetracks, and model
trains. Think of all the embraces, all
the private jokes, customs, greetings, names, dreams, all the shared knowledge
and capacity of a black family injected into the vessel of flesh and bone. And think of how that vessel was taken,
shattered on the concrete, and all its holy contents, all that had gone into
him, sent flowing back to the earth.
I know there are times when war is necessary. War to stop
Hitler’s evil against the Jews and other minorities in Europe was non -negotiable.
It had be done.
And I guess that is my hope for every world leader out
there; that they will duly consider what has
to be done, no more, no less. Wars are not war games. The lives of our brave soldiers
matter. The lives of innocent civilians
matter.
Before they make such fateful decisions, I hope they will think of all the love.
Years of love snuffed out in an instant.
Anne Bailey
Think of All the Love
Reviewed by Unknown
on
April 14, 2017
Rating:
Reviewed by Unknown
on
April 14, 2017
Rating:
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