In the Blink of an Eye

In the blink of an eye.  

In the blink of an eye... The score of a baseball game can change sides.  In the blink of an eye.. Rain can come down even though the sun is shining.  In the blink of an eye... Baby birds that were in the nest, can suddenly soar.  In the blink of an eye... Life can happen... And for better or worse... Change your course or path.  

Today... In the blink of an eye.... 11 children... lost their parents in a plane crash.  In the blink of an eye... A small town in Northen Mississippi, my beloved Oxford, lost 3 incredible dentists and community members.  In the blink of an eye.... Life changed courses.  

Tragedies often remind us of how fragile life is and that we are not promised tomorrow.  Things are placed into perspective whenever something like this happens and we are left to wonder why and how... Yet... Through our faith, we know that His grace and comfort will provide the healing to allow us all to grieve and to get through the dark days ahead.  We know that our prayers to lift up these children will be answered and we know that somehow ... In the blink of an eye... He will wrap His warm embrace around each of them and heal them as only He can.  

In the blink of an eye.... We should all stop... And tell our children how much we love them.  In the blink of an eye...we should cherish our loved ones and show them every possible way how much they mean to us.  We should hug them and love them and never allow any doubt that love is in your heart.  In the blink of an eye... We should help one another, be kind and give thanks.   In the blink of an eye... We should work every to be the best person we can be and live every moment of our lives.  

In the blink of an eye... We grieve.  Oxford mourns and Oxford prays.  

"SEE" people.

My heart breaks for our country.   My heart breaks for the city of Dallas.   The officers, their families and the civilians.  My heart breaks for not only the loss of life, but our loss of love for each other.  Why does it feel that we have many individuals who have become so consumed with "upping" each other, it seems that we have forgotten what the term UNITED, WE STAND, actually means.  We have become a nation that is divided.    We need leadership that unites ALL Americans.   

We need to stop looking at race.  We need to stop separating each other as this group or that group.  We need to stop these various campaigns... THEY ARE dividing our country.   

WE should not see color... We should SEE PEOPLE.   Let's understand this... ALL LIVES MATTER.  Whether you are black, white, purple, pink, blue, or polka dotted....every human life matters.  Your color should not matter.  Your status should not matter.  Your age should not matter.  Your ethnicity should not matter.  Stop placing separation with these campaigns.   ALL LIVES MATTER.   I won't pretend to know what it's like to be African American and I do understand the premise of the Black Lives Matter campaign.... But we are all God's children.  Every life should matter.   With that said... I don't think we need to shove these issues under the rug or ignore them.   We need to work together, united.... To find solutions and resolve the issues we face as a country.  We need to improve the relationships between our law enforcement.     I understand that people want to advocate and protest the wrong-doings of a few and they want to take those instances and blow them up for the better good, but.... What we are doing is making the problem bigger, it seems.   There is fear on both sides of the aisle and we are not helping it.   We are becoming more and more divided because we are setting ourselves back 60 years.   The great Martin Luther King worked tirelessly to erase the division.   We need to find a way to build a bridge.  

Police officers have a very tough job.  There's a fine line where the actions of a few are questionable.   I don't condone these actions.   I don't agree with these actions.  But we cannot take these few instances and allow them to divide us as a country.  The media plays a HUGE role in sensationalism and in creating a lot of division and we allow it.  

We all know that not every person should be a police officer or that we need to make sure that these officers are trained to handle situations.  Loss of life should never just occur.   It should never just be the answer.   All other avenues should be exhausted before taking another human life.   Men and women who are in law enforcement take these jobs to protect and serve.  Last night... A pre-meditated act of terrorism meant to destroy police lives was accomplished.  These individuals have hatred in their heart.   These individuals took it upon themselves to become vigilantes because they felt hatred after the recent shootings in Louisiana and Minnesota.  

Friends.... Love is love.  Hatred is hatred.   As a nation.... We are falling because we are divided.  We need to support one another in times of peril, not continue to break each other down further.   We cannot judge a country as a whole based on the acts of a few.  Last night, in Dallas, the police were simply doing their job.   They were there to keep the citizens of their city safe during a peaceful protest. Protesting is a constitutional right.  It should be peaceful, respectful and organized.  The police were there to keep those who were protesting safe.  Do you think those 5 police officers woke up yesterday knowing it would be their last day on this earth?  And the same goes for the 2 shootings earlier this week?  Police have a tough job, but we need them.   We need to find a better way.... To resolve these issues and to build a better world.   We should see people, not color, gender, religion or anything in between.   My heart breaks for all of these families.  My heart breaks for our country.   We live in troubled times and this is not the America that I want my children, grandchildren or future generations to believe is normal.   It's up to each of us..... Take a look inside and ask yourself.... What can I do to make the world a better place?   

As you go about your day today... Look around...SEE people.   We are all different.  We are all creations of God and within our heart, there should be love for our fellow man.  

Disclaimer:  

    I write this blog for therapy -- to share my thoughts, feelings and honestly to get things off of my chest that are bothering me.... So please ... Note... THESE are my thoughts and feelings and not intended for any other purpose.  

Love is Love is Love.

Love is Love is Love.  

What is love?   If you were to ask 100 different people what their definition of the word love is... You'd get 100 different answers... But somewhere in each answer, there would be a connection among all the answers.   

This past week-end, another senseless tragedy and mass shooting where innocent people lost their lives and countless others wounded.   This time... The city was Orlando.  The location, a nightclub called Pulse.      The news outlets have reported that Pulse was having "Latin night" and there were about 320 people in the club when the lone shooter walked in and began his rampage.  He killed 49 people, injured 53 more and then he was fatally shot by police.  Why is this suddenly the norm in society?   Why are there no answers?   Why are we not demanding them?   Through all of the frustration and unanswered questions.... The one thing that has become crystal clear --- LOVE.  

Across the US and internationally, there has been an out-pouring of love and support being shown to the families of those lives that were lost,  those victims that are still in the hospital, the first responders, law enforcement and the entire Orlando community.  

 Residents lined up early on Sunday to donate blood.   Restaurants offered food, drink and rest-rooms.  JetBlue offered free flights to the families.  A fund was set up (OneOrlando) to help the families and numerous pledges and donations have been made.   

Cities around the world.... Lit their landmarks as a show of solidarity, support and love.   This tragedy caused great hurt and pain, but it did not take away the love.   It did not remove it.  

As a country,  It will take a while before we recover.  It will take awhile before we feel safe again, if we ever, truly feel it -- but through all of the emotions... One thing will remain.  

Love is love is love.