Welp. It’s November. If you’re reading this, it means you’ve made it through the tenth month of 2020. Congratulations. It sort of feels like we’re living in Panem, you know, where the Hunger Games are held. There’s a lot going on in our world at the moment. There’s no need to sugar coat this….yes, I’m writing about the election. Feel free to scroll on if you’re tired of it…but I promise you this has a good ending and you should read on!
An election will take place in a few days that will shape the America that my family and I will feel the effects of for the rest of our lives. Whether that be the supreme court justice additions/changes, climate change decisions, racist ideologies (whether overt or covert), racist policies, racist practices, laws, and procedures, and so much more…this is the most important election of my lifetime thus far. This election is one that even my kids know about because of all of the division that has been created (and the 3984987592348-4102930 mailers that we get each day). This election has had me thinking about my kids’ future in so many ways.
I recently sat with my Vinny, working on a lesson about adaptation, and how camouflage is one of the greatest gifts that animals have been given to keep them from becoming prey, or for finding food. Predators can hide and hunt their prey…or animals can become prey based on their abilities to adapt or change in their environment. As I worked to help him through this lesson…my mind began to wander.
As a black woman, I often feel like it is my superpower to adapt and change based on the environment that I’m in….and it’s not necessarily what I want to do. It’s an adaptation that I have, a survival skill…instinct. It’s in my DNA. Black people have always had to adapt to change…from being taken from their home land, made into slaves, losing their native languages, customs, and traditions, being denied rights, and then compounded with racist practices and policies just because we’re black and brown…..it’s amazing that we still exist. Our existence is heavily dependent on our ability to adapt to the world and the changes it endures.
When Africans were forced into slavery upon arriving to the Americas, they were given scraps for food. Different odds and ends from pigs, hooves of animals, hard root vegetables, etc. What did we do? We adapted…added a little sugar, some salt (ok lots of salt LOL), and called it Soul Food. When attempting to escape from slavery but denied the right to learn to read, what did we do? We adapted! We portrayed maps of certain areas or streets by braiding our hair in rows (cornrows) as a visual guide, which sometimes contained actual maps and seeds to eat for survival. Black people have been adapting to change since stepping foot onto this continent. With all that being said…adapting to the change of this current world…well…it’s something I have to continue to do. There are days that are hard, weary, and some even seem never ending. But there are people who fought through the hardest parts of history for me to be sitting here in my comfortable bed, thinking of hard things, rather than experiencing the pain, blood, sweat, and tears endured for actual change. God I’m thankful for that.
As we enter the month of thanksgiving, my heart is full, and my eyes full of tears, as I think of the adaptations that my people have endured and the changes they fought for so that I could be free, and have the ability to vote. Gratefulness overflows from my heart thinking of the lives lost, families torn apart, communities shattered…all so I could vote.
However, the most important thing to share with you all, is that regardless of who the president of the united states is, one thing does not change, and forever stays the same.
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever (Hebrews 13:8).
God has known the outcome of this election before our simple minds placed our ballots in the box.
For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. (Jeremiah 29:11)
You do not need to be afraid of the outcome, regardless if it goes the way you want it to or not. WE GON’ BE ALRIGHT! (YEP…click on it)
Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” (Joshua 1:9)
ALL things…(let me say it again) ALL THINGS work toward God’s plan, and He will repay wrong doings in the end.
And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. (Romans 8:28)
Dear friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. For the Scriptures say, “I will take revenge; I will pay them back,” says the LORD. (Romans 12:19)
Regardless of who you are, what you do, how you look, how you sound, what you say, what you don’t say, where you go, etc…. You need to know that eternal life is yours if you only believe and confess.
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:23)
Although change is inevitable, and adapting to change can be shattering. But I’ll say it again… WE GON’ BE ALRIGHT! God is the only one in control that I care about. He is the one who I have to answer to in the end, the one who knows my heart, my rights, my wrong doings, and it is He who I want to say in the end, “Well done my good and faithful servant.” It is my prayer that regardless of the election results, that you continue to put your trust in Him, but also exercise your right to vote. Faith without works is dead. If you want change, be the change.
Have a blessed November yall!
Stay Healthy and safe…and I’ll see you real soon! (Virtually)