"Don't Believe Everything You Think."

To know me at all is to understand that writing is a great outlet for me. I may not talk much, let alone with the same freedom and articulation as I do in writing, but please don't ever mistake my quietness or silence for a lack of an opinion or agreement with a topic being discussed for that is rarely the case. Sometimes it just takes me a while to form the right words and put them in the correct order to get across whatever point I am attempting to make. Also, being able to write things down, those pesky thoughts that continue to bounce around inside my head demanding some sort of release, is a bit like letting the air out of a balloon, after which I can sleep peacefully again. To keep them inside is to perpetuate my own inner torture and frustration. Much of my writing is to release the discontent and disquiet in my head and heart and not to in any way claim absolute correctness, full knowledge, or expertise on any given topic. My writing is often my outward wrestling with an inner issue. This writing falls into this category. A favorite bumper sticker I once saw said, "Don't believe everything you think." I accept that challenge and I hope others do, too.

Elmina, former slave castle, Elmina, Ghana.

 Forgive me my vehemence. Or don't. But I ask you to attempt to consider these things. From my perspective. Through my clumsy impassioned attempts to articulate my understanding of aspects of my faith and the words on a page from a book I'll never wholly understand despite my continual efforts to do so. I'm no expert on the Bible (though I do attempt to know it and grow my relationship with God through its study and reading) or gun laws (of which I make no such similar claim). But I am a citizen of this earth for now. And I'm angry. Probably no surprise there. Many things make me angry. Some of it is justified. Some of it, maybe not. But really angry. Shaking, trembling furious frustrated wrecked heartbroken angry. Like when someone ignorantly and heartlessly says "She asked for it by dressing that way," or that "They should go back to where they came from." Fury.

This anger is in regards to guns & gun violence and the people responsible for the continual atrocities being committed against innocent populations all over this country. I'm not only referring to the murders who physically attack the innocents. Admittedly, I hate, despise, loathe, abhor guns. That is no secret. I find the defense of unrestricted access to deadly weapons reprehensible and nauseating.

• "Guns don't kill people, people do."
• "Someone wanting a gun intent on destruction will get one no matter what laws are in place so why bother?"
• "It's my right as a citizen to own guns, according to the constitution."
• "Give everyone guns, arm the teachers, and that will stop them."
• "It's not about guns, its about mental illness or religious fanaticism or (insert your  excuse/who or what you blame here)."
• "Why punish the law-abiding citizens because of a few radicals?"
• "People kill people with their cars so why aren't people trying to take away cars?"

and numerous other arguments. These are not answers or valid arguments!! Just give up? Let them do as they please? Hell, we'll give you our blessing through our apathy and ostrich-like ignorance and just hope for the best? No! Unacceptable!! Saying mass public shooting aren't about guns is about as absurd as saying sex trafficking isn't about forced sex or rape for profit, or that immigration issues aren't about racism. Of course, there are other issues involved with these very complex issues, I'm not denying that in the least, but to take the main issue out of the conversation is nonsensical. We don't have these mass murders happening with sling-shots or bows & arrows, though there is the occasional knife attack, which doesn't result in nearly as many deaths as a gun attack. Mass shootings are being committed by people with guns. Lots of guns. Guns & bullets that kill other people. Not sling-shots, not bows & arrows. Guns. Wielded by people, predominantly men, who easily accessed these murder weapons. Far too easily. What does my neighbor or brother or whoever need an automatic or semi-automatic weapon for? And why would we think it was okay in the first place? Thank you, NRA, for your effective propaganda and tireless lobbying on behalf of your greed and self-interest.

Psych ward, Alcatraz.

I've heard your arguments. Now humor me and hear mine. I can not comprehend the ignorance or complete blindness required to completely deny that there is a problem with guns in this country. Go ahead, look up the statistics. You can blame it on mental illness or religious extremism or whatever you want to if it makes you feel better but that isn't going to change the facts. By the way, if all these people who are shooting up churches, businesses and schools are all mentally ill as is the frequent claim, true or not, why are you so eager to gun them down (see argument about arming teachers in schools to stop the threat as an example)? Does qualifying them as insane, psychopathic or sociopathic somehow justify their murder? Is that not the same rationale that made slavery acceptable? They are somehow less than so they are thereby unworthy of life? Wrong. God created man in His image and said it was good. All mankind. Worthy.

As for the weak and absurd car vs. guns argument, first of all, vehicles are primarily modes of transportation. They are purchased with the purpose of transporting people from one place to another. They are NOT purchased generally as a weapon. A gun has no other purpose than to be a weapon. It can not be used for transportation. Secondly, the laws and regulations around even being able to drive a vehicle are many. You can not just walk into the DMV and get your license without having first getting a learners permit, taking a drivers education course which generally takes several months and passing a written and driving test. If you fail, you do not get your license. You have to try again until you get it right. Then, if you are a teenager, you are still limited in your driving abilities. You can't drive with other teens in the car that aren't family members, I believe, nor can you drive late at night, for at least 6 months. These particular restrictions were not in place when I was getting my license so I may not have all that information complete and accurate. But the point is, there are multiple restrictions that govern getting a license and having a license. If you abuse this privilege, there are consequences such as getting your license taken away and on and on. Guns do not have the same restrictions on acquiring or possessing them, though there are restrictions on felons having them and some other restrictions. See the table below. Yes, it is from Wikipedia so take that with a grain of salt, but I was wanting something succinct and this is what I found. No permit required for purchase. No owner license required. No training required. Can you see my point? Can you see the absurdity of claiming vehicles are anything like guns? Guns are weapons. Vehicles are modes of transportation that, if used outside of the bounds of their intended use and by individuals under the influence of anger, alcohol, dementia, etc., can kill people. Guns, when used as they are intended to be used, kill.

(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_laws_in_Washington). I don't understand the 'responsible, law-abiding' gun-owners response that more laws and restrictions will only inhibit their perceived 'rights'. If you are such a law-abiding, responsible citizen, why are you so threatened by even basic restrictions such as maybe a gun-safety course, background checks, and limits on assault weapons, to pick a few? If you have done nothing wrong in the past which might prohibit you buying that gun, then you have nothing to worry about. That law-abiding, responsible citizen ought not to fear regulations that protect their rights while making it safer for the rest of us who choose not to arm ourselves. Knowing that any Dylann, Christopher, or James can purchase a gun without so much as a training course or license makes me ill. And it should not sit well with you either.

Gun violence is primarily about guns, people with guns, about unrestricted access to any kind of gun you might conceive of. It's about a population that would rather allow this uncontrolled access to deadly weapons than to even pretend to want to enforce basic laws out of, (here's that word again), fear that the government is somehow infringing upon their so called freedom, their rights as an American. Owning a gun is not a human right, yet somehow it is perceived as one, as if it's the only way to protect your family, to guarantee your freedom, independence, life, happiness. When did the constitution replace the word of God as the ultimate truth and guide to life for His followers? The 2nd amendment shouldn't trump the 6th commandment. It's about people who value their perceived right to carry a gun over the right to life, which is an actual right given to us by our Creator. It's about the hearts of a fallen and broken humanity that stubbornly rejects anything that threatens its selfish desires. It's about a population that stubbornly refuses to admit that there is a problem because, society-forbid, we actually acknowledge our complicity in these crimes by our very apathy and outright opposition to anything that seems to threaten this 'freedom'. Make no mistake, we are complicit.

He who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps to perpetrate it. He who accepts evil without protesting against it is really cooperating with it... History will have to record that the greatest tragedy of this period of social transition was not the strident clamor of the bad people, but the appalling silence of the good people." Dr Martin Luther King Jr.

Inscription found in the former slave fortresses in Ghana.

While I'd like to see guns disappear from this world, I don't actually see that happening and am not really advocating for that. I see no use for them in a civilian setting (no I'm not advocating a police state, either, just some of that not-so-common-anymore sense), other than hunting for food, (not for 'sport' since a sport is only when both sides know the rules and are willingly participating, but that's another conversation), or for keeping wild animals from attacking your domestic animals like on a farm. If they aren't being used in these instances and the practice involved, what other instances is there a valid use for them, outside of the military in war (again, another topic for another time)? Inanimate objects are rarely causes for real concern, though I hear those cans and bottles can be quite terrifying. ;) So if you're not running off coyotes and if you're not hunting for food or doing target practice, or possibly taking part in some sort of shooting competition, what else is there? I don't know many actual hunters or farmers but I know several people who carry or have guns. So what exactly do you intend to shoot with that gun, not being a hunter or a farmer/rancher or sportsman? That leaves humans. Animate objects. Living, breathing people. Well, at least they started out that way, before. Victims. Statistics until they are your statistic. Then, sometimes, they matter. Sometimes. Stockpiling weapons to 'protect' yourself and your family from the more often than not imagined impending assault from … whoever (probably those people from over there with different, darker skin color than you, though you may not admit it), is evidence of a fear-full spirit and mind and often underlying or blatant racist ideology. How many times do we read about someone being shot and killed because the now-murderer thought the other person had a gun and then it turns out that the now-murdered person was unarmed? Imagined threat. Far too often, this jumping, shooting at shadows, this killing of innocents. Needlessly. Death before breathing. Irreversible actions before thoughtful reactions. Fear full. We are not called to live in fear, to give in to worry.

I took you from the ends of the earth, from its farthest corners I called you. I said, ‘You are my servant’; I have chosen you and have not rejected you. So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. “All who rage against you will surely be ashamed and disgraced; those who oppose you will be as nothing and perish. Though you search for your enemies, you will not find them. Those who wage war against you will be as nothing at all. For I am the Lord your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you." (Isaiah 41:9-13, emphasis added).

Clock remnants, Cape Coast Castle, Ghana.

Then Jesus said to his disciples: “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life? Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest? (Luke 12:22-26, emphasis added)

Worry gains me nothing but can cost me everything. My safety and protection isn't found in some man-made thing that only promises death to the other in exchange for my safety, but in the promises of my God. There is nothing that any human can do to me that God can't redeem, including my death. I believe that. That does NOT mean that I welcome the evil in this world into my life and act intentionally foolish. I could choose to lock myself in a bunker in order to 'protect' myself from whatever evils in the world I feared. To 'protect' myself. Out of fear. Worry. I could do that. Some people do that. Some people buy guns. For 'protection.' Out of fear. Worry. I could join the fear-full masses. Or… I, we, could actually believe what He said. Take Him at His word. Faith, trust, hope, love.

You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. They are from the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them. We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we recognize the Spirit of truth and the spirit of falsehood. (1 John 4:4-6, emphasis added)

"So do not be afraid of them, for there is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roofs. Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell," (1 John 3:16-28, emphasis added).

People are too quick to say they'd kill anyone who threatened their family or sense of freedom (read sense of entitlement to everything we think we deserve as opposed to the things God has promised us if we would only believe). I get it. There is much I would do, will do, have done when people I love have come under attack. None of them physically violent, mind you. Emotions run high. It happens. Then sanity slowly returns. As professed Christians who supposedly believe the Bible to be the inspired word of God, how do we so easily run right over, dismiss, ignore the command to Not Kill? It's right there, clearly stated, in 4 small words. Thou shall not kill or in some versions, do not commit murder. Period. Full-stop. Next commandment. There are no exceptions given after this command in any of the versions I've read; no "Thou shall not kill… except when someone makes you mad, except when someone threatens you, except when you are being attacked, except when they kill your family." I've never seen that in the Holy Bible. I have seen:

You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well. If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles. Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you. (Matt 5:38-42, emphasis added)

You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. (Matthew 5:43-48, emphasis added).

(Do not mistake my beliefs and convictions for any amount of perfection in any of these areas on my part. I fail more than I succeed on any of these issues.) How did we become so willing to send someone to hell on the spot and defend it by slotting it under 'self-defense'? Most assuredly, that is what you would be doing. Sending an unbelieving soul to hell. If you, as a Christian, know where your eternity lies and profess to be concerned about the souls of unbelievers, how can you be so willing to end that life in defense of your already assured eternity with Christ? You know where you're going, he probably doesn't. If your death, rather than retaliation, allows for the opportunity for the person to come to know Christ at some point in their life after your death, is that not the ultimate sacrifice? Isn't that what Jesus did? Didn't he allow Himself to be brutally murdered for all of us who had not yet come to know Him even when He could have easily avoided such a horrific death before His resurrection? Sacrifice. And didn't He call us to follow Him, to be like Him? Obedience and emulation. To give up our lives for Him? Service. Obviously, we are not Christ, but we are called to be like Christ, to lay down our lives for not only our friends but our enemies. Might 'laying down our lives' look an awful lot like not killing someone who was attacking us, our families, our man-given freedoms? Might it look like fighting for the sanctity of life, of all lives and particularly the lives the world has continually said through action and speech that they don't matter? Not just yours or your family's. All life. Might it look just a little bit like Christ?

I will not be passive nor stand idly by nor cooperate. No, I don't think guns as inanimate objects are evil. The evil lies in the hearts and minds of people who ignore God's word. I don't own a gun, obviously, but if I did and if my giving it up meant that another life might be prolonged because of that, regardless of what might (never) happen to me, that's a no-brainer. No question about it. Give it up. Especially in light of the Gospel. Especially in light of His promises. There is no material possession I have that I wouldn't get rid of if doing so might mean the preservation of another's life. My TV. My camera…ouch. My internet access. Pick anything. Is there anything more precious to you than another life? Than the life of your child? Your spouse? Your sibling? Your parent? Your friend? Here's a tough one… that stranger or your neighbor who we're supposed to love in the same way we love ourselves? Owning a gun ought not to be more precious than these lives. Than your life. So why are we as a society so afraid of both the imagined attacker and limiting access to the very same threat we are so afraid of? It makes no sense. Can we not see the absurdity? My life is not made free by guns. Guns aren't going to keep me safe. I don't have the answer and don't pretend to know it all or refute these arguments sufficiently. And I don't know much. Boy, I'd be sitting pretty if I did! But denying that there is a problem, refusing to enforce the laws that are in place, enacting basic restrictions, and ignoring God's word on the matter will only result in more unnecessary premature deaths. How much longer will you be complicit, with or without a gun to your name? 

He came to set the captives free. All of us. Captive. Can be free. From fear. From worry. To love. To live.

Slave quarters, Elmina Castle, Ghana.

BE THE LIGHT

     You've heard that phrase about being a light in the darkness, right? Who doesn't want to be a light in some way, big or small? There are so many ways we have heard this idea in songs and poetry, movies and books. "You're the light of my life," or "Let your light shine," or "This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine," and on and on.

I don't think I know too many people who would prefer to be the darkness that threatens to extinguish the light, at least not all the time. Granted, we all have bad days. I certainly do. But even on my darkest days when everyone and everything just makes my mood darker, I don't want to share that w/ others. I would rather go to my room and keep my bad attitude to myself so as not to hurt anyone and work through it and not come out until I've gotten it out of my system.

 "The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it," John 1:5.

Lightness is amplified by the darkness surrounding it. Being a light in a room full of lights (picture a lighting store or a lighting section at Home Depot) just isn't going to have the same impact as one solitary light in the darkest of places. A flashlight or lantern is hard to see in the daytime but can save a life in darkest night. Stars are nearly if not completely impossible to see w/ the naked eye during the day but so wondrous and magical at night. And sparklers are so much cooler when its dark out! We aren't called to be lights in well lit places or even dimly lit ones. We Are all called to be a light in the darkness.

"Let light shine out of darkness," 2 Corinthians 4:6.

"Let your light shine before others," Matthew 5:16.

So you know what that means? You're not gonna like this, I think. That means we have to get out of our well lit places, our warm and cozy homes, our brightly illuminated too comfortable boxes, and Actually go to the dark places, the hurting and broken places, the uncomfortable and scary places, the places that need your breaking heart to shine brighter than the sun if it were to rise suddenly in the middle of the night. It is through the cracks in that breaking heart that the light and love burns so bright. A heart breaking & hurting for others inspires action. Who ever rescued the maiden or fought the enemy out of indifference? It is not apathy & ignorance, nor complacency or helplessness that ever defeated an enemy or rescued the slave or won the war. Or made a difference. Or changed the world.

There is something in this world that grieves your heart to such an extent you have no choice but to act, to do something, anything to fight the enemy. You can't just sit by any longer and watch (insert your heartbreak here) or listen to (insert your heartbreak here).

"You are all children of the light and children of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness," 1 Thessalonians 5:5.

For me, as I'm sure you know if you know me at all, it is the absolute evil of human trafficking/slavery. I can't fathom a worse or more prevalent evil in this world that destroys the beauty, life, hope and innocence of so much of humanity with such blatant selfish greed, lust, and all around depravity. To be without a voice or an escape or any hope… It devastates my heart over and over and over again, especially when it involves children. Such tangible brokenness. Such raw pain. Such pure evil and darkness. How could I do nothing??!! How could I sit there knowing this evil was out there, next door, down the street, across town, and touching every single country in the world and not act??!! It's everywhere and touches every spectrum of life, regardless of your awareness of it or not. Even now as I type this there is a painful lump in my throat and tears of rage that are wanting to fall. It makes me feel as if I'm going to be violently ill.

Now I know I'm only one person, one rather small quiet person, not wealthy, influential or outgoing. Just one woman. Me. And this . . . well this is huge and it's everywhere. How could I possibly take on this mutant of a Goliath??! If I only ever listened to all the lies the world, the media, the enemy, tells me every single day, I'd believe it, the lie that I can't do anything. That I'm nobody. That I can't change the world.

But wait a minute… this isn't about me. Not really. They don't need little ole me worrying about my personal insecurities, deficiencies, flaws or struggles. It's about them. It has to be about them. Each and every one of them. Us. Every single one of them that makes up the staggering millions. It's not about me. If it is about me, they are still dying before they reach 20 years old from the abuse they have lived. If it's about me, they are still enslaved, suffering unimaginable violence, humiliation, brokenness. If it's about me, I'm contributing to the problem, not fighting mightily against it. If it's about me then they are still without hope, without love. It can't be about who I'm not but absolutely must be about what I am willing to do in spite of me and about who my God is. For them. For us.

When its no longer about who I am or am not but about who they were, are, could be . . . that's when it changes. It has to be about them! Not me. If it was only ever about me, I'd never leave my cozy home w/ my Netflix and fuzzy blankets and pizza. It's not about you, either. Not you. Not what you can't do, don't have, aren't. Them. Us. Martin Luther King, Jr. Gandhi. Mother Teresa. Me. You. Just one person each. One person who changed the world, their world, our world. You're just one person, too. When will you realize it? Don't wait too long. They need you. We need you. Start where you are. Big or small. You're someone. Do something!!

“If you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday," Isaiah 58:9-10.