The Holy Agitation

I usually pride myself on being able to weather the storm, to look ahead to the sunrise and the rainbow. However, lately I’ve been retreating into myself, being inundated with the blatantly racist rhetoric out of the White House and people all around me. In the same basket, I’ve been devastated by countless environmental protections being thrown out, alteration of scientific articles by the administration, heart-wrenching stories of ecological death and despair, and increasing impacts of climate change.

In the same sense, while I have enjoyed this summer to rest from college and prepare for my missionary service, I feel isolated from my faith, especially missing my campus ministry.

Simply put, I am tired of listening and fighting the darkness of the world, while my faith has simultaneously become detached in this transition period.

Let me backtrack.

I read a report earlier this week that scientific studies written by scientists in the department of the interior, environmental protection agency, and USDA are actively being altered to hide evidence of climate change, and impact of environmental deregulation. To add to this, the scientists themselves are being shuffled out of their roles, with one scientist being reassigned as an accountant.

Blatant attempts to silence facts.

As well, I keep seeing headlines of increasing endangered species, dying off of whales and orcas in the PNW, scorching heatwaves across the East Coast and Western Europe, and widespread/chronic drought in Australia, indicators of long term shifts in climate exacerbated by increasing greenhouse gas emissions.

To top it off, I was in Washington State hiking in national parks, forests, and wildness areas and kept finding trash, heavenly damaged plants beside trails, and ignorance of ecological preservation rules.

At this point, I do not have much to say about the occupant in the white house other to say that the President is a blatant racist, xenophobe who is actively obstructing justice and sowing disillusion in democracy, the diplomatic process, and forgoing human rights at the border, in our cities, and in conversation.

These dilemmas combined with processing the end of college, leaving my campus ministry and being relatively isolated in my faith, and building apprehension towards my fellowship, have winnowed away at my usual activism and faith in justice and joy.

We live in dark times. Lies abound and scoundrels are in charge. Ultimately, I see this as the brokenness of the world, an abundance and encouragement of sin and the inability of humankind to work together, but instead actively work to tear each other down.

Yet in all of this, I got a card in the mail today and an accompanying saying said “The will of God will never lead you where the grace of God can not keep you” in addition to Psalm 121:8 “The Lord will watch over your coming and going from both now and forevermore”. There is always light that pierces the darkness, we just have to find it and let it shine. Light shines on all and casts out the sin and darkness.

I know God and Jesus and the Holy Spirit are there, leading us on in righteous anger, pushing for justice in a world filled with corruption and greed. They are the Holy Agitator, and with them at my back and holding my hand, even when I fall, they pick me up and push me on.

In conclusion, we all have times in life where we fall down and it seems the world is pushing us down further. But there will always be light, and good, and love. Love will always trump hate and ignorance. We just have to look for it.

As always,

He Climbs Mountains