Wow! My, My! My! How do we deal with all the stressful situations we hear of and see in the media and visuals on tv on a daily basis?? Rakeyia Scott’s voice tauntingly pleads, “Keith, Keith, Keith, don’t do it! He has no weapon—don’t shoot him!” “I know he’s not dead.” “He better not be dead!” “He better not be dead.” “He better not be dead!” “He better live!” “He better live!”…..The voice of Keith Lamont Scott’s wife, reeling in my mind. What a shocking, beyond dramatic, surreal, wrenching, heartbreaking! The shock of it all! There is a push, a pressure to shove us toward a higher level of understanding and trust. Verses from Isaiah 59 come to mind, “Surely, the LORD’s hand is not shortened, That it cannot save; Nor His ear heavy, That it cannot hear….. Justice is turned back, And righteousness stands afar off; For truth is fallen in the street, And equity cannot enter. So truth fails,.” “Then the LORD saw it, and it displeased Him, That there was no justice.” So justice is driven back, and righteousness stands at a distance; truth has stumbled in the streets, Truth is nowhere to be found, The LORD looked and was displeased that there was no justice. He saw that there was no one, he was appalled that there was no one to intervene; so his own arm achieved salvation for him, and his own righteousness sustained him. No one calls for justice, Nor does any plead for truth.” The question is asked, “What is God talking about?” Surely, He is not just talking only about the atrocities of police killings? No. He is pleading with us to look to Him for wise answers and solutions to all of life’s challenges. God is slow to anger. Watch out when God becomes angry! His word cuts; ways and directions: north, south, east and west; to the heights and to the depths. His word stands. His word is unchangeable and incontrovertible. God is saying that each day of our lives ALL of us need to inch closer and closer to Him. Let’s give thanks for all that we have. Seek Him every day, every way and all the time! Where we can be just, render justice. Where we have to make decisions that effect our families, lives and those around us, let us make well thought out decisions. Consider as you make a decision the effect of that decision on others and what results will be brought into their lives. Where possible, avoid presumptuousness, frivolity, impulsiveness and compromise. Don’t settle for just anything. Meditate, contemplate. Effect positive change in our lives. Make thoughtful, contemplative decisions. Teach your children at home. Jeanette Grattan Parker, Ph.D.
Superintendent/Founder-Today’s Fresh Start Charter School, 4514 Crenshaw BL., LA 90043 323-293-9826 [writer, artist, educator, speaker, marriage expert (50+) Writings are copyright: “Will You Marry Me” and “Inquiring Minds Want To Know.”] [email protected].
