President Ronald Reagan quoted II Chronicles 7:14 in his 1981 Inaugural address when he said “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.”
I don’t have words to express my shock when I heard that Louisiana Governor Landry issued a declaration that the classrooms in Louisiana will have the Ten Commandments in full view.
It doesn’t take a genius to know that our nation has slid a long ways when every day or so we hear of one more mass shooting.
When I was a child we sat up and took notice to our old fashioned ministers.
It isn’t my imagination that we have sled a long ways.
Has life really changed so much?
I reflected back to the Donna Reed days that I sense are over, along with full-service stations, fathers who came straight home from work to read the evening paper – also a relic of the past – before the entire family sat down to their regular evening meal once called supper.
Now each one fends for himself – from dawn till dusk – because it takes Mom and Dad – to pay for the four cars in the garage.
As I write I ask, “Where do we go from here? How do start back – how do we put the home back together – return service with a smile to even the local gas pumps? How do we go back once we’ve crossed the picket lines or is it up to the next generation to figure that one out?
How do we arrange to keep Johnny and Susie out of jail – off of the streets and out of trouble?
In a dark period of my life, I saw a plaque in my Aunt Ruth’s house. It read “A journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step.”
Change always begins with the first step.
We can only go back one person at a time – as we reach out – reach up – embrace those within our midst – and turn our lives – our hearts over to a Higher Power and be unafraid to confess that belief to those within our midst.
It does little good to voice simple platitudes – written words of comfort that lack the sustenance or the strength to bond together the family unit that has become unglued.
Where we start can only begin within – and must radiate outward to include and draw others into our family circles – because its still true “It takes a whole village to raise a child” – not just a Mom and Dad or only one parent – who perhaps received little nurturing within their own childhood days.
But with all of this said, I must confess that I feel a spirit of hope – of caring that is pervading the atmosphere wherever I go.
I sense a hunger that cannot contain itself – that will not be satisfied with falseness – of keeping barriers intact but must be communicated in order to keep our senses on – in order to maintain one’s equilibrium.
After all Anais Nin’s words still ring true: “We are each of us, angels flying with only one wing and we can only fly while embracing each other.”
This feeling of caring can strengthen the home one person at a time but how do we go back once we have crossed the picket line?
Could it be that we have left God out of the home and the school, unaware that we better look up before it is too late.
Because Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever He can still move mountains,.
He is still in control.
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