I am inadequate to the task of writing about Ferguson.

I am in pain and my guess is, you are, too.

And if you’re not, then either you’re not engaged in the conversation or you don’t have a computer. And if you don’t have a computer, you’re not reading this post so never mind.

I will post this one article here because I think it so eloquently states what I’ve been trying to communicate to my non-minority friends for years. If you’re not a Christian, don’t let the fact that it’s from Christianity Today scare you off – these are human experience issues, and this article is incredibly helpful.

And I’m gonna go for a run. Because at the moment, I find myself overwhelmed with life and world stress. The life stress (my search for a new job, concerns for my kids, care for an aging relative) is overwhelming and exhausting.

The world stuff – pain caused by racial disharmony, poverty, politics, human suffering – is equally overwhelming and exhausting.

But there’s a God in heaven and I will choose gratitude.

“Give thanks to the Lord, call on his name, make known among the nations what he has done. Sing to him, sing praise to him, tell of all his wonderful acts. Glory in his holy name, let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice. Look to the Lord and his strength, seek his face always.” Psalms 105:1-4

And I’m going to go for a run. Because I have breath in my body and strength in my bones, and God HAS called me to a purpose and to speak truth. I don’t know how he wants to use me, but I know that he does.

My hope for all of you is that your Thanksgiving table may be filled with love. Which doesn’t mean no dysfunction or pain or burned food. It just means acknowledging that those with whom we sit at the table, in our actual dining rooms and in our world, are equal image bearers of the same God. And we are family. And as my friend, Barry, says, we need to find a way to bring Shalom.

Jen