Where the Tweet Hits the Street or A White Suburban Woman's Call to Confront Racism

As I sit before an empty screen and type, my heart is anything but empty. My heart is full; full of sadness, despair, guilt, confusion, pain, and questions. The divide in our nation is deep, deeper than I’ve ever seen it. I have literally and figuratively been driven to my knees in prayer and brokenness. The problems we face are enormous and I am just one person. Moreover, I am just one 55 year old white woman from the suburbs. 

So, I’ve prayed and prayed. I have cried out to God, asking him what I should do. HE has replied, over and over by putting these words on my heart. I am going to share them in several different versions because as I have parked on Micah 6:8, each version has added clarity to my focus.

He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. (NIV)

He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? (NRSV)

He has told you, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of you Except to be just, and to love [and to diligently practice] kindness (compassion), And to walk humbly with your God [setting aside any overblown sense of importance or self-righteousness]? (AMP)

Human being, you have already been told what is good, what Adonai demands of you — no more than to act justly, love grace and walk in purity with your God. (CBJ)

This verse is continually at the forefront of my mind. The answer is so simple, yet the task is monumental. I cannot let that overwhelm me or paralyze me into inaction. God has shown me that the place to begin is in my own heart. So, I’ve begun. I have begun with me. My prayer is that HE would heal our land and use me in some way to do so.  I am praying and asking hard questions. In my prayers I am asking God to search my heart and reveal any ugliness in it. If I want God to use me to bring change, I cannot do it until I am changed. 

We need to learn from our mistakes. The best way to learn from our mistakes is to begin with acknowledging that we’ve made them. I don’t believe God is going to just wave HIS mighty hand and fix this. We have created this mess and now we need to come together and clean it up. 

God has also impressed on my heart that there is much that I don’t know and understand. As I said, I am a white woman. I’ve not experienced prejudice due to the color of my skin. It is important that I learn more about this. I am doing all I can to educate myself. My social media contacts have changed drastically. I am following a variety of people with a variety of views. Honestly, some of them say things that shock me. My comfort zone is being pushed and I think this is healthy. I read Tweets that make me cry and break my heart. Some Facebook Live sessions fill me with anger at the injustice people face. Most of all, I am filled with remorse for my years of silence and inaction. However, I am not going to let the remorse shame me into further inaction. 

My friends, this is where the rubber meets the road or rather, “where the Tweet hits the street” for me. I am sharing this because I think that there are many more people like me. My hope is that if you are one of those people, you’ll be encouraged to start asking God some hard questions that may bring painful answers. 

May the Lord bless each of you as you seek HIM.

Leslie