One Antidote to Futility by Sarah Christy from February 5th

By Sarah Christy

Memories are often attached to emotion– good, bad, and everything in between. Memories can remind us of our happiest days and our darkest days. Happy memories can bring us warmth and a smile. Through the hard ones, we are reminded that we have survived so we can survive again. We might not want to, but we can. My father was a veteran of WWII. He was proud to be an American. I grew up going to every patriotic event in my small town. My mother drove people to the polls on Election Day. My grandmother read three newspapers every day. The news was discussed at the dinner table. The discussions were bland, rarely touching on the ugly things in our world, like lynchings happening in the South.

     In the 1970s, when my husband & I adopted black children, we became involved in racial equality issues and addressed the issue of our children being treated fairly. I naively thought that “things were getting better.”

     Then George Floyd was murdered. I was devastated. Watching the replays on television was horrifying. All of a sudden, I had to think about the realities of my world and my optimistic view of my country. It felt like we were moving backwards, not forward! My beautiful black grandchildren are vulnerable in a way I never dreamed of, especially my grandsons, one of whom is a police officer. The horror of open racism is difficult to see. 

     Here we are six years later, observing the killing and hunting down brown-skinned people. Those of us who profess we are followers of Jesus and try to live our lives loving others, especially the disenfranchised, feel overwhelmed and discouraged. 

     I find myself struggling, wanting to take action, wanting to do something, yet what would it be? I’m in Illinois. I am limited by my age. My days often feel overwhelming already. So how do I live and make peace? And what do I do with these feelings of disappointment in the world I am part of? As I was thinking about all of this and recalling the history of suffering people and how they endured. Yes, we live in a fallen world. We are forced to live with evil, with man’s inhumanity to man, to see people in need, to feel hopeless.

     Jesus promises us his presence and his love to sustain us. I try to stay in that spirit, looking for ways to do kind actions, ready with a smile or an encouraging word. I donate time and money to my church. Also, I allow myself to turn off the news when I must, reminding myself not to slide down the slippery slope of discouragement and anger.

     I pray that God will show me the spots where I can help. This sounds trite and simplistic. God wants to be within the trite and simplistic parts of our lives. His love for us is never-ending. Living in this world is hard, and we need to remember that we are a people embracing the reality of God with us to the end of time.