de gente non sancta,
ab homine iniquo et doloso
erue me.
...from unholy people and from deceitful and cunning ones rescue me.
I have been praying Psalm 43 since the president of the US abruptly halted the entrance into the country of refugees and immigrants, including at the start, permanent residents, who could not return to their homes and jobs. Called a "temporary inconvenience" by some White House staff, I wonder if they would consider it a temporary inconvenience to be barred from their homes, and their incomes, for three months? Or if most parents of five year olds would consider being separated from their child for three months merely inconvenient? Military parents certainly don't view it that way, we call it a sacrifice in those cases, because it is so painful.
The president calls it a success, we are safer he says. We were safe before, not perfectly safe, for we never are, but safe enough. So safe, that those whose cities are in ruins, whose children are dying, want to come here. Not a single refugee who has come to the US, from any country, has carried out a fatal attack here. And if one were to do so next week, we would still be safe.
Do not be taken in by screaming anecdotes from either side. Stories may be true, but they may not reveal the truth. Ask for data. Data that shows the policy is working, data that shows it is not. Pray for light, not noise, to guide you.
O send forth your light and your truth;
let these be my guide.
Let them bring me to your holy mountain,
to the place where you dwell.
Standing with you, Michelle. Praying with you. I, too, am praying many psalms of lament. Praying, too, that when other action is called for, I will be ready.
ReplyDeleteAs a citizen of the UK, I am taken with what Doris says and I pray that I will be ready to act when called - unlike our PM who waited to see which way the wind was blowing before disagreeing with the need for these "executive orders". Shameful.
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