“THESE are the times that try men’s souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman.” Thomas Paine

We are living in horrific times. Times that try our souls. Times that try our hearts.Times that try our faith. And yet these are the times that, if we allow them, can clarify and embolden and bring forth in us goodness and strength and purpose and love.

We need to stand. Our country needs us to stand. Our children need us to stand. Our students need us to stand. Our neighbors need us to stand. Not in division and rhetoric and anger and posturing, but in common love for our country, our children, our future. They need to see us stand. We need to show them what it looks like to stand in unity as Americans, as neighbors, as friends.

Not, “Hakuna Matata”. Not, “Let’s just all get along.” But a standing that says, “I disagree with you, but you are my countryman. Yes, we have fundamental differences, but let’s work together as mature and capable adults to find solutions that work now and secure a safe future for our children. Let’s model for them the skills and character that will take them into their futures. Let’s teach them how to be healthy and whole. Let’s show them what it looks like to stand.”

As I sit here behind this screen, I wonder if I am merely simple and naive. I wonder if I am just having a “moment” and thus venting on social media? I know I have fundamental differences with many of my neighbors and colleagues. Our dimpled chads cast different shadows in the voting booth. Our dinner or water fountain conversations present chasms of perspective and worldview. Our heads bow in various postures. Our children are watching, and they need us to show them something greater and of more transcendent value than angry words and angry division. They need us to stand. The question is, “Can we…?”

I am a woman of faith, and my faith is centered in God, His Son Christ, and His redemptive work on the cross of forgiveness. I live each day by the mercy I need and the mercy He lovingly offers. I long to love as He loves. I long to offer the hope of His grace, the joy of His smile, the truth of His words. I long to stand. Along side the ones who share my convictions and perspectives. Along side those who do not. To stand by my country and all that she was founded on. To stand by her now. In wisdom. In grace. Our children are watching. The question is, “Can we…?

America the Beautiful

O beautiful for spacious skies,
For amber waves of grain,
For purple mountain majesties
Above the fruited plain!
America! America!
God shed His grace on thee
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea!

O beautiful for pilgrim feet,
Whose stern, impassioned stress
A thoroughfare for freedom beat
Across the wilderness!
America! America!
God mend thine every flaw,
Confirm thy soul in self-control,
Thy liberty in law!

O beautiful for heroes proved
In liberating strife,
Who more than self their country loved
And mercy more than life!
America! America!
May God thy gold refine,
Till all success be nobleness,
And every gain divine!

O beautiful for patriot dream
That sees beyond the years
Thine alabaster cities gleam
Undimmed by human tears!
America! America!
God shed His grace on thee
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea!