Memorial Day Celebrates the Ultimate Sacrifice

 My Great Uncle Elvy died during WW2. They were attacked off the shores of Germany. Experts are following the stories of all those who were lost and are trying to discover how he died. According to his shipmate who wrote my Great Grandmother, he was killed while shooting at the enemy, as they had just been attacked. The way his fellow soldier described my Great Uncle’s last action, it was as if he was in a war movie and after he took his last shot, he was shot off of the boat. 

He was considered MIA for years. One of the soldiers said that he was there one moment, and when he turned around, he was gone and nowhere to be found. That gave a lot to our imaginations. History conservationists are working to have his headstone placed in Arlington National Cemetery to honor his ultimate sacrifice for his country. A country struggling to find its way, even today. 

Nothing in this world is free. Someone has to pay for it somewhere. We all enjoy receiving free gifts, but we forget that someone had to pay for those gifts. Freedom comes with a price. The price costs some people everything. Jesus paid the ultimate sacrifice for our sins. If he didn’t, we would have to be killed for every single wrongdoing we have committed. We cannot repay the ultimate sacrifice, but we can begin to live as if freedom is priceless. 

We have soldiers who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom to live our lives on our physical land, and we have Jesus who made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom to live our lives on our spiritual land. Now, it is our turn. We can make small sacrifices in order to create a big free world. If we just sacrifice little habits that destroy people, we will recognize freedom all around us. 

We can recognize how our actions and words affect others. We can use our freedom to berate others or empower and encourage others. We have to decide which one will make a difference and make actual changes. If we do not like certain words or terms, then we do not use them, but we are gentle when we instruct others about those words. If we want the world to be a better place, we have to start with being better people. Each day we can choose to practice good habits and work to break a bad habit. That is how we make America better. That is how we represent Jesus better. 

I cannot fathom living in a country without freedom but in order to have that freedom for everyone, I may have to sacrifice some choices in order for others to be free. I can sacrifice time and resources so others can also enjoy the freedom that all humans deserve. 

Memorial Day is a time to remember and reflect of why those men and women sacrificed everything for our freedom. Let us reflect and let us make a choice to honor their lives with respecting our freedom and not taking advantage of their freedom or the freedom that Jesus gives us from sin. Our small sacrifices can make small differences that when added together, can create a better country. We can do better, and we must. 

To Mask or Not to Mask, That is the Question

In the beginning of the pandemic, the CDC said, “No, please don’t buy masks. The health care workers need them.” Then, we were told, “Okay, there are enough masks for you to purchase. You should wear them when out of your house.” Then we were told, “You must wear them outside of your house. In fact, some of you need to wear them inside of your house.” It is now fifteen months later. The CDC says, “Fully vaccinated people do not have to wear masks, indoors or outdoors, unless the state says otherwise.” The state says, “Wear masks where it is posted to wear them. Wait, we’re California, wear them.” I now may understand the political debate of a disease. Well, I sort of get it. 

Masks. They have been a political debate on social media for the past fifteen months. I’m not debating them. I have cute ones that I buy at the bargain table at the Disney Store. Masks. We all wear them, whether we put them on physically or not, and most people are unaware how their masks have become ingrained in them and have become a part of who they are. 

Characters in horror stories wear masks to hide their identity when they commit a crime. Then, when they take their masks off, they live a normal life. Their counterparts are superheroes. Some of our superheroes wear masks, especially when they are doing their jobs to save the world. I do like some superhero movies and television shows. I have noticed that with both groups, DC and Marvel, the superheroes that wear the masks want to hide their identity because they want to hide their power. We live in a society that wants us to hide our power and our identity. It’s strange because most people will tell you the opposite, but trust me, hiding is safer but not healthier or better for the whole of the community. 

Safe. We all have lived a year of safety. We lived inside our homes. We went to work and school at home. We wore face masks when we left our homes and entered businesses. (In Los Angeles, it was mandated. For the rest of the country, you may not understand that.) A mask gives us safety to hide. I was able to hide my facial expressions, except for the occasional eyeroll. Masks allow us to hide our true identity and not allow others see who we really are. We hide behind our political pundits, our human spiritual leaders, news media, books, social media, television shows, and movies. Just like the superheroes and villains who wear masks who do not want their enemies to know their identity, we do not want people to see who we are because then they will see our true identity, and we are uncomfortable with people seeing the truth, both the good and the bad. The truth will set us free, even if we endure judgement. 

Trust. We have been told to wear a mask not just because we can receive the virus, but because we can give it. If we think it’s not that bad to give it to someone else, we do not realize the damage that we do to others. When we have broken trust, we damage the people around us, and we do not always realize the damage that has been done. For the past year, we have had to go places and trust that people were not sick in the environment in which we were. The question begs to be asked if we can be trusted too. If people do not trust others to do the right thing, then they have a right to believe that when they see us, they do not trust us to do the right thing. We not only have to build trust for others, but to be trustworthy toward others. 

Disease. We were told to wear a mask so we will not get a disease. Some people said that we were contaminating ourselves with the dirt in our masks. Yep, we wear masks to cover up the dirt in our lives. We look one way on the outside and our inner selves is full of greed, wrath, jealousy, and other sins. If people were to observe our sins, they would judge us. If people were to see our sins, they would gossip. The problem comes when we no longer see our own sins because of our masks and behave as if the sin is now an extra limb on our body not realizing that it is the damage that we are doing to ourselves and others around us. 

Faith. Whether we wear a physical mask or not is not even close to the point. We need to tear off the masks that we hide behind to cover-up our sins and reveal to the world how we as imperfect Christians are redeemed by the blood of Jesus. We have to have faith in Jesus and the church that we can live a full life without the masks. It is without masks that we reveal the love of Jesus to others. Our masks may not be visible, but they are recognized. Many people can see when Christians are wearing a mask as they say one thing and do another. 

Masks. We all wear them. Some people wear a mask of insecurity. Others wear a mask of fear. Some wear a mask of all of their agendas. Some wear a mask of knowledge. Some wear a mask of power. May we remove our masks and reveal our real identity, as the world is waiting for us to rise and be on the side of humanity. The world needs love, grace, mercy, and peace now more than ever. The only way we can share those qualities is when we are authentic in our faith and in our true identity. May we live a life without the invisible masks and reveal ourselves to others to reveal the love of Jesus. 

 

The Influence of Our Moms

 Last year at this time, life was not fun for my mother or my sister and I. We are grateful that today my mother is healthy and alive. This year my mom is able to eat anything and is stronger and getting healthier. It reminds me that we have to be grateful for what we have in the present. 

Mothers do not always get the accolades that they deserve. My mom became a single mother when I was nine years old. She had to go back to work. She moved my sister and me to Florida, while my adult brother stayed in Michigan. She discovered credit cards. Thanks to her discovery, we were able to afford the many items in life that everyone else had. From her struggles there are some valuable lessons I have learned. 

First, my mom relied on God during the good times and the bad. Since she was strong in her faith in the good years, she was able to be strong when disaster struck. She not only brought us to church, but she lived her faith everyday so that we had an example to follow. It has made me realize that as a leader to young people, I had to live my life with a genuine faith. Young people can see our fake faith and our genuine faith. No one is perfect. No one has all the answers or the same ideals as others, but all of us can be genuine with our faith in God. Genuine faith is what will influence people to follow Jesus. 

Next, my mom had to be creative with resources. She discovered credit cards and loans. Although I do not recommend anyone going into debt, I realized that she had to be creative to have her car repaired, the plumbing fixed, or have small items that we used every day. My mom realized that life had to have fun mixed in with the serious tasks. She also realized that time was precious, so family dinners may have been in a restaurant and car rides home from band practice were for discussions of our lives. 

Finally, I learned that I had to use the resources that were available to me in order to provide for my future. It was through my mom’s struggles that I knew I had to go to college in order to have a career that would provide for my future. Even though I chose professions that are not as strong financially, I have been able to provide and go beyond with finances and with many other areas in my life. 

We all influence those that we are around all the time. Those who are mothers are able to influence people every single day. Not every day will be perfect, but your children are learning from your imperfections. We learn not just from perfect people, but how people reclaim their lives when they fall. Besides, most of us have caused our mothers imperfections. Happy Mother’s Day to all the Moms! 

Learning As I Teach

 My class just finished reading the novel, Al-American Boys. It is written by two authors. One is black and the other is white, Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely. I picked the book. Yes, I have students read the classics, but I also try to introduce them to literature that is current, seeing how that is what I also read. I want students to enjoy reading, not just do what we did “back in my day.” It’s not about “my day.” It’s about their lives and to give them an understanding that books are beautiful. The book was written in 2015 and is about racial injustice. The lessons are immense, and each character has to choose what to do or not do with the racial injustice in their own community and an incident that occurred to one of the students in their own school. All they have to do is choose. 

First, let me address the fact that we as Christians cannot deny that the sin of racism does not exist. I live in the huge and diverse city of Los Angeles and racism exists here. If it exists here, then I cannot stick my head in the sand and claim that it does not exist in smaller communities in America. It does. We do not always see it. As a teacher, I have recognized that it exists in the education system. (It is way beyond what we teach in history. The education system is built on racist practices, but that is for another blog.) I have voiced my claims and instead of applause, I am pelted with verbal assaults and justification for the racist methods in the education system. Whether or not racism exists is not the question. What we, the Christian community and the church will do with that knowledge is what will move us forward or backward. 

Just like the characters in the book, we all have a choice. We can choose not to care. We can claim that it is not my problem, which I have done and have repented. We can claim that it is easier and better to walk away from the discussion and focus on what we need to do in our lives. I have done that too, but it is not right, and I have repented. I did not watch the Oscars, but I heard the speech of Tyler Perry who called us to meet in the middle because in the middle is where we have a conversation. I think he’s been reading my other blogs because I have recognized that it is in the middle that we can understand those who think and live differently than ourselves. 

We have to admit we do not know everything. I wish I knew everything about everything and everyone, but I am not that person on Twitter. (Sorry, I couldn’t resist.) I do not know everything about life. If I did, I would not struggle. I would already know the answers. Maybe that is why God does not allow us to know everything about everything and everyone. He wants us to find the answers. God is that way. He gives us the tools and we need to use them. Before anyone says that is horrible and that is not a loving God, I will tell you it is exactly what a loving God does. It is what any good teacher does. A good teacher desires for his or her students to discover the answers, not just give the students the answers. Once we admit we are not all-knowing, we will be able to see someone else’s point of view. We will be able to understand that which we have not experienced. 

We have to listen. I understand that listening to the media can be exhausting and many of the stories in the media do not contain the truth. We need to develop relationships with people who will speak truth into our lives with love and grace. We need to listen to them and to their stories. Listening can also come in the form of reading. This young adult novel that we read in class revealed attitudes that people I know and I, myself have possessed. Listening to my voice in a novel of a character that is not on the “good guy” side is difficult, but hearing the truth is helpful. It is where change begins. Having heard the truth, I now will go into a new direction with change. 

We have to change. If we do not change, we do not grow. Sunday April 25, 2020 was the tenth anniversary of our church’s first gathering on Hollywood Blvd. The street has not been the same since then, but the beauty of that gathering is that those of us who were there came from another location of our church. We were told we were moving the Sunday before Easter. We had a one week’s notice. For my friends who work in ministry, you know that is a miracle! People moved with joy and celebration. We drove out of the way of our connivence to bring the light of Jesus to a dark street. Change is difficult. Change is not fun, but it is necessary. No one is asking us to move to a new community. We are just being asked to change from seeing life through our own perspective and to see life from the perspective of others. That small change can make a great difference.

The times are changing. If we do not change with them, then we will become irrelevant, and we will struggle to represent the love of Jesus. We need to represent the love Jesus has to our communities in which we live, to everyone in them. There is so much to be done. Our churches need to recognize that segregation on Sunday mornings in diverse communities must end. Our families need to recognize that some of their beliefs have been passed to their children and it affects other children. We just have to start. One of the main characters in the book wanted to do something. He learned he just had to start with his own words and thoughts. God gave us minds and hearts. May our words and thoughts represent the love of God instead of our political beliefs, our generational beliefs, or any other beliefs that cloud our minds and blind our souls. I know that I will make a commitment to learn, listen, and change in order to love. 

As a teacher, I taught the book. As any good teacher, I was also a student and the book, and my students taught me. We only hear the negative about our young generation. Those of us who work with them see the potential of greatness that Generation Z possess and could bring to our country. In order to go forward, we must learn from yesterday. Yesterday, we had an ideal that we created from our own perspective. May we begin today to see life through the lens of those who walk a different path than us, so that the future will be greatly impacted. If we see the need, then we will go forward. If we remain blind, we will stay stuck and die. The church must move forward. Let us all take our role. 

Thank you to the authors Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely for their beautiful book, All American Boys.