Good morning! It took me a few tries to come up with this title. I don’t know about you, but this week was interesting. Work has been busy, then the cooking, the cleaning, the phone calls – texts, etc. Life, this week, just seemed like it was on super fast forward. All that to say that it felt like so much and so little happened by the end of each day, but I’m thankful it is Friday 🙂
Last night I was talking with some friends, and we were discussing how we are in seasons where we feel God is highlighting things we do in relationships where we worry how we are perceived or if we aren’t going to be liked, accepted – basically, insecurities. Oooh those pesky insecurities! They can choke the very life out of you! Well, anyway the last six months I have felt like I’m on this fast track learning curve to let go of this old survival technique. Relationships are being reshaped, removed and realigned. It seems like I am confronted, on a pretty regular basis, with my own people pleasing tendencies. It has been a stronghold in my life in many more ways than I care to admit.
After my friends left Mario told me a conversation he’d just had on the phone with an old friend of his. His friend told him that someone he had known and considered his friend for 47 years sent him a text telling him to never contact him again because of his political beliefs because they were different from his on every level. The text was full of venom and Mario’s friend was shocked. I have heard of more and more friendships breaking up over vaccine status, political views, racial issues and all the hot topic buttons of the day. People literally hate each other right now. There is definitely an “us” and “them” mentality in every area. What happened to embracing differences, to agreeing to disagree?
Many fans of the late Ruth Bader Ginsburg would know that one of her close friends was her conservative colleague Antonin Scalia. Enjoy this article excerpt from the USA Today article, “Supreme friends: Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Anotnin Scalia“: “
Long before they became federal appeals court judges, Supreme Court justices, travel companions and New Year’s Eve celebrants together, Ruth Bader Ginsburg watched Antonin Scalia speak to the American Bar Association. As she would for decades to come, Ginsburg disagreed with Scalia’s thesis. But, she recalled in 2014, “he said it in an absolutely captivating way. “Thus did the two ideological opposites attract for what became from that day on a close friendship – one their families, friends and colleagues recalled affectionately after Scalia’s death at a Texas ranch in 2016 and again following Ginsburg’s death Friday on the eve of Rosh Hashanah. “What’s not to like?” Scalia said of Ginsburg at that joint appearance six years ago. “Except her views on the law.” Here’s the link to the whole fascinating account of their friendship if you want to check it out:
I love that example of friendship in the here and now with that tension of disagreement. They didn’t back down from their beliefs even though they were obviously vastly different, but they liked each other. We are now a culture that screams diversity, but when presented with it we scream at and shame those who don’t agree with us. Okay, sorry, that’s another post for another day.
Getting back to the brave part….what’s your brave? Obviously Ruth and Antonin were brave in presenting their opposing views to each other personally and professionally. Stepping out in faith to take a stance or speak your view on something is a little scary for people (me) who have cared way too much about others opinions. I just want to share God’s truth and love NOW, and you know what…that might not be popular, but it will be BRAVE.
My prayer for you and me today is that we are brave and courageous in how we communicate who we are to the world. That’s loving God, loving yourself and loving others – speaking truth in love. The only opinion that truly matters at the end of the day is the One who made us, and He sees and knows. Hopefully we can be free in the brave today because He loves us. P.S. I put these songs because they go with the theme today. Please enjoy!
With all my heart, Sonia
john4four 