Empathy: The Better Gift Than Just Showing Up

Dear Readers,

I really believed that just "showing up."- was enough to show someone you care.

That was what my mom taught me-  giving of your time was the ultimate gift.

However, in  modern day America-  really is that enough?

 I. truly. believe. it's. not. enough. anymore.

More and more people are divided in thoughts, beliefs, lifestyles. gender, sexuality, and race.

I've been doing a community bible study at church about racial reconciliation.  It's called Justice or Just Us.  I am learning SO much about unconscious bias, the definition of racism, the call as a Christian to combat it, and now, in a devotional- I'm reflecting on the history of slavery that our country was literally built on.  

Sadly, I'm seeing our nation in a constant unspoken divide.  Even if people speak out about an issue that bothers them, really they would have to find other people to actually care to listen.

We truly have a care issue in our country which leads to more divide and bitterness/anger that come with unforgiveness and strife.

I've been faced with our nation's history lately- from colonization to the times of segregation in schools.  

 I learned of things that really made my skin crawl and I see our nation's systems for what they truly are-  unfair and biased.

I  have heard the stories of my fellow classmates the last two weeks- all different ages, all different races, and all different backgrounds.  It's been a safe space of exchanging thoughts and words-  but ALL of us are overwhelmed by the weight of the unsaid problem of racism still in our everyday communities.  We take to the Lord the things that have hurt us in our stories or even the questions/problems we have encountered with other people. We study, pray, and learn.  

This is all new to me, even as a minority, because it's just something that you don't talk about.  The only time I've brought up race was in applying for financial aid or a scholarship.

Being 36 now, married and with a family, I see race play a factor in my marriage and my parenting- especially being a bi-racial couple and raising bi-racial kids.

I work in Public Schools.

We just attended a speaker who talked about Equity yesterday and gave us alarming statistics of who was being suspended by demographics and who was being shot unarmed around the nation.

Race.

It's starting to get REAL.

It truly matters.

Showing up isn't enough if you truly don't care about someone's back story and their future.

Living with people in the present day is only lived well  when we can come alongside each other- and listen.

We have more and more hurt people in this world and I have come to realize that some of those hurts are historically un-dealt with or cared for.

What. impact. would. you. have. if. you. were. the. one. person. who. cared. for. things. other. people. didn't. deem. worthy. to. care. about?

We have gotten used to  tolerating the presence of others and keeping our biases politely to ourselves.  However, those biases left untouched, really do damage to our hearts.

They do damage to our nation and generations to come.

Lead with empathy and get to know others- kids and adults the same.

In this journey, I find myself more caught up in the fear of offending someone or saying the wrong thing, but I would rather "try" and do something about this problem now rather than just wait it out- for my kids to deal with later.

Thanks for reading!

With Love. Always,

Crystal