Love Wins

I had another post planned for today. Something deeply theological. About free will and equality in the eyes of God.
I’ll get to that post, but today I just want to say, “Love wins.”
There’s a book out there by that title. I haven’t read it, but I know the idea is true.

It’s easy in a world devastated loss, whether at home or abroad, to forget. In fact, it’s near impossible. In my feeble tries at empathy, I can never so much as feel the flames of pain for the families of the missing plane. Or the hellish reality of mothers losing their children in Syria.

It would be vain, self-serving, and just plain wrong to say, “Love wins!” that to a grieving mother, in an effort to make her feel better. But all the while, love is winning. In the warmth of that mothers arms as she carries him, the tears that fall from her cheeks, her prayers for his safe passage. Until the day we cease to care, cease to empathize, cease to feel, love wins.

As long as there are hearts who stand against hatred, who care for the hated, who carry on in endless grief for the loss of one who has been created, love wins.

So, I challenged myself to care. To boldly follow my baptismal vows: to seek and serve Christ, loving my neighbor as myself, to strive for justice and peace, and respect the dignity of all human beings.

This is radical, and scary. All: even the ones who belittle and disagree with me, who say really offensive things, who I find vapid, ignorant, and unintelligent, who are entitled, who are overbearing and clingy, and who upset me.
Those are the most difficult for me to love. And, you know, even though they may not know me as well as they think they do, some of them love me already. Since I was born.
I have to love them too. And sometimes I suck at it. A lot. I challenge myself to let love win.

Lent Madness

It’s here! Lent. And I have many thoughts. Instead of giving up a thing, I’m giving up sloth. I’m going to try to establish a routine daily that includes writing every day. Either here,  or in my book, or thank you notes, etc.

Ashes, ashes! I’ve already fallen down. Not choosing something to give up until today makes me feel like I’m already falling down on the job. But today’s sermon at our Ash Wednesday service reminded me, that I’m ok whether I beat myself up or not. God loves me and forgives me anything. I need to not worry about trying so hard.

So here I am. Writing. I’m doing it. I’m going to spend most of this time updating my page. It’s going to be better than ever.

Stop Screaming!

I said months ago that I was back, and that I would start writing again on a regular basis. I think it’s obvious at this point I haven’t done that. In the meantime there has been a lot I’ve wanted to say.

Without many details, what I want to say is this:

When it comes to right or wrong, I want to err on the side of love.

Of course you say, “But, Marybeth, what about all those evil abortionists, and heathen homos, and all those devil-worshipping Atheists, murderous Muslims, slutty women, and those greedy bums on the street that don’t work? How could you believe that those people are good? How could you love them? Why would you not stand against the evil in this world? It’s in the Bible! Thou shalt not murder! Thou shalt not commit adultery! Thou shalt have no other gods before me! If a man lies with a man it is an abomination! Aren’t you a Christian?!?!? You are against conservative values. You should have been raised better than that.”

That is what I hear every time I peruse Facebook or turn on network news. People screaming at the world to condemn homosexuals to a life of second class citizens because the Bible says so, to turn a blind eye to the homeless and destitute because they’re lazy (and we all know sloth is a deadly sin!). All I see is people who I love dearly calling me a baby murderer. Hearing or reading those words directed towards women just like me feels like being punched in the gut so hard you can’t breathe. The ignorance of it is intolerable. I’m tired of hearing people screaming that women who are raped must in some way have deserved it or asked for it, that women give consent simply by being female (more on that later). I’m tired of hearing love ones think that the undoing of the world is going to be the offering of medical care to those who can’t afford it because they think they’re lazy bums. Stop screaming that as a Christian the secular world is out to get you. Just because you can’t pray in school out loud or place the 10 commandments outside your city hall doesn’t mean that you are under attack. You’re not. You have it better than most religions in the world. Trust me. If you’d, for one minute, try to put yourself into the shoes of another person who isn’t a white American Christian, you would understand. You are blessed beyond measure and you have nothing to complain about.

I love my friends and family, but you’ve got to stop screaming.