Today, some of my neighbors used their voices and their bodies to protest cutting down 100 year old trees in our neighborhood. For several hours, they sat in trees so that they could not be cut down. While this is not one of the ways that I choose to use my voice, it got me thinking. We live in a society in which those who raise their voices loudest and in the most visible or even, offensive ways, are those who get heard. There is so much noise to sift through in our everyday lives that we forget to listen for “the #voice crying out in the wilderness” or even the “voice heard in Ramah…Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more.”
Tonight on Shonda Rhimes’ Grey’s Anatomy (at the end of a story line that highlights tragedy, fear, pain, grief, and forgiveness), the lead character, Dr. Meredith Grey, closes the show with these words: “Don’t let fear keep you quiet. You have a voice; so use it! Speak up! Raise your hands! Shout your answers! Make yourself heard! Whatever it takes; just find your voice…” And while finding your own voice, please do not forget to listen to the voice crying out in the wilderness, the voice heard in Ramah, the voice of little children, the voice of those whose voices are ignored and silenced.
Whether it’s our “cause” or not, dear Lord, let us use our voices for those things and people that break your heart. Dear Lord, let it be. #rethinkChurch #lentenphoto-a-day
Jasmine Rose Smothers 