The Quest for Clarity

This is how my morning started... I posted the following as my status update on Facebook:

I tried really hard to sleep in late this morning... but my thoughts kept drifting back to that man who's living in his truck while waiting for his first paycheck from a new job (that probably pays minimum wage). My privileged mind just couldn't keep laying in my queen-sized bed, in my air-conditioned house, with my better-off-than-most-people dogs. Issues are weighing heavily on me after the the past week of blog-reading, listening/reading about political platforms, and sitting in my office trying to imagine how that homeless man is living with such a positive attitude. I feel some blogs coming on. Not that writing will change anything, but it will help me get my thoughts out of my head. Time to get started.

A few things happened this week that have me pensive. Here's the list:

• In staff meeting we heard about a book called One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp. We also heard about Ephesians 4:32: "Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you."
• I read this news report of the recently-released Republican party platform.
• I read this article in Salon by Paul Campos: "Anti-obesity: The new homophobia?"
• I listened to some key speeches during the Republican National Convention. I can't think of another time in my life when I've done that, but I'm really trying to hear both sides of the story.
• A man came in to the church office with this story: He is living in his truck. He has a job at the school (which just started, so his job just started). He doesn't get his first full paycheck until the middle of September. While he was changing clothes in the Wal-Mart restroom, someone stole the rest of his clothes and personal items out of his truck. 
• I read this blog post by Ragen Chastain: "People of Walmart"
• I ate lunch with a friend and found myself talking about worrying about money. While eating at Olive Garden. Really, Melissia? You have sooo much to be thankful for. Why do you dwell on little insignificant things?
• I read this blog post by Wayne Self: "Akin, RNC Comments and Policies Remind Us: Abortion is a Gay Issue"
• I was reminded by blogger Dan Pearce of a quote that I keep in my "About Me" section of Facebook, but too often forget: "It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it." ~ Aristotle

There are probably other things, but that's what I can think of just off of the top of my head. And each of those things have reminded me of something I read last week by Rachel Held Evans... "How to follow Jesus…without being Shane Claiborne"

You may be thinking, "Melissia, you should really stop reading stuff." But... I guess I just can't do that. The problem is... the more I read, the more problems I see. The more I think about problems, the more overwhelmed I become. And being overwhelmed can be a slippery slope into hopelessness. Instead of being overwhelmed by the issues of our day, though, I decided this morning to get out of my comfy bed and start writing. So... if you frequent my blog looking for genealogy posts, you're going to be disappointed for a little while. I'm going to spend a little time exploring my thoughts and the thoughts of others about key moral and social issues in our society. This is a good time for reflection, since elections are coming up soon.

If you'd like to follow along, a good place to start would be by reading the linked items above.

* Just so you know, I don't claim any political party affiliation and in general don't like to talk about politics. But since politics seems to be the realm in which many of our society's issues are debated, here I go...