Dear Diana,
Pretty damn depressing. Thanks. Well you know, thanks for nothing or maybe thanks for everything. I hope you are wrong and I expect you are right. I can still here the voices of the altar calls at a Jack Wertsen rally. I was 16. Never raised my hand but never got the voice out of my head....well that is not right.…
Pretty damn depressing. Thanks. Well you know, thanks for nothing or maybe thanks for everything. I hope you are wrong and I expect you are right. I can still here the voices of the altar calls at a Jack Wertsen rally. I was 16. Never raised my hand but never got the voice out of my head....well that is not right. That voice just annoys me now. It has not power. The struggle now is somehow to not let the heart hate those who deliver you are no good message. The struggle is to love the ones who I do not agree with or hang a 4' by 8' Trump Forever Sign across the street from my house or hand a "Fuck Biden" sign next to their Christmas manger scene. I have a silent prayer that asks the creator for help loving my way out of my anger. I invite my neighbor to have his children sleigh ride on the hill on my property. We are civil to each other but we do not communicate. Sorry about the rant. Love to read your stuff. Thanks for ruining Thursday. I am a Lutheran pastor getting ready to bury a 16 year old great kid who jumped in front of a train on Monday. I heard 30 scolds of Trumps victory talk on Tuesday and got nauseated. An hour ago I was hugging a women in tears whose daughter had said no to dating the 16 year old boy who jumped in front of the train. People are dropping off gift cards and food and cards and tears because some one they know is suffering. Life is complicated. Politicians are out of touch. Jesus would not recognize some people who call themselves Christians. Jesus was the first to cry when the train hit Riley. How do we stop feeling powerless? How do we use love to make the world safer for everyone? Once again sorry about the rant. I do not expect anyone to read this anyway but it has helped me. Blessings to you and the truth of your voice. Niels Nielsen
Sir, you brought tears to my eyes. So much grief and sorrow in the world made harder when our young people, knowing only despair, chose this final act of desperation. My heart goes out to you and to the boy and his mother . And Niels, you are kind and full of compassion in these dark times. Know that you are needed and are important to your community. We all are powerless in the decisions of our loved one’s as well as those full of hate. The most I can offer is my broken open heart and my tears and by showing others I care, I am here for you. The writer Wendell Berry wrote an essay a number of years back titled “Everything Turns on Affection”. As difficult as this may be, in the face of all the suffering in our culture, I believe that this is the truest of truths. Thank you, for I am blessed by your words.
A beautiful - although heartbreaking - sharing from you. I read it and found your answer to the hate all around you to be exactly what we are all called to do in response... LOVE!
Dear Diana,
Pretty damn depressing. Thanks. Well you know, thanks for nothing or maybe thanks for everything. I hope you are wrong and I expect you are right. I can still here the voices of the altar calls at a Jack Wertsen rally. I was 16. Never raised my hand but never got the voice out of my head....well that is not right. That voice just annoys me now. It has not power. The struggle now is somehow to not let the heart hate those who deliver you are no good message. The struggle is to love the ones who I do not agree with or hang a 4' by 8' Trump Forever Sign across the street from my house or hand a "Fuck Biden" sign next to their Christmas manger scene. I have a silent prayer that asks the creator for help loving my way out of my anger. I invite my neighbor to have his children sleigh ride on the hill on my property. We are civil to each other but we do not communicate. Sorry about the rant. Love to read your stuff. Thanks for ruining Thursday. I am a Lutheran pastor getting ready to bury a 16 year old great kid who jumped in front of a train on Monday. I heard 30 scolds of Trumps victory talk on Tuesday and got nauseated. An hour ago I was hugging a women in tears whose daughter had said no to dating the 16 year old boy who jumped in front of the train. People are dropping off gift cards and food and cards and tears because some one they know is suffering. Life is complicated. Politicians are out of touch. Jesus would not recognize some people who call themselves Christians. Jesus was the first to cry when the train hit Riley. How do we stop feeling powerless? How do we use love to make the world safer for everyone? Once again sorry about the rant. I do not expect anyone to read this anyway but it has helped me. Blessings to you and the truth of your voice. Niels Nielsen
I hear you 💕
Sir, you brought tears to my eyes. So much grief and sorrow in the world made harder when our young people, knowing only despair, chose this final act of desperation. My heart goes out to you and to the boy and his mother . And Niels, you are kind and full of compassion in these dark times. Know that you are needed and are important to your community. We all are powerless in the decisions of our loved one’s as well as those full of hate. The most I can offer is my broken open heart and my tears and by showing others I care, I am here for you. The writer Wendell Berry wrote an essay a number of years back titled “Everything Turns on Affection”. As difficult as this may be, in the face of all the suffering in our culture, I believe that this is the truest of truths. Thank you, for I am blessed by your words.
Thank you for your compassionate thoughts.
We need to tell each other these things.
So sorry 😢. Now we see why those in despair want to believe that heaven is real. ❤️❤️🩹
I read it. The one phrase "Jesus was the first to cry.... " and always . so powerful.
A beautiful - although heartbreaking - sharing from you. I read it and found your answer to the hate all around you to be exactly what we are all called to do in response... LOVE!