When Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. gave his, "I Have A Dream," speech, I don't think that the world would have forseen that nearly five decades later we would have our first elected African-American President of the United States of America. For many people especially minorities this was seen as a huge victory, and a renewed sense of better days to come. What people didn't realize that the President would face an extensive amount of resistance and opposition not only from his colleauges but also from many Americans. It is amazing to see how much hate is spread through social networking sights such as Facebook. It seems like we as an American people have forgotten what is means to be great. We have forgotten about the blood that has been spilt so that we can have all of the freedoms that we all enjoy. As an American I am proud to say that I have four vetrans in my family. Two of them fought on foreign soil so that we could be free. The two vetrans in my life who served during times of war and put their lives on the line make me proud to be an American.
So lets fast forward to 2013 and think about what is happening. We have men and women fighting in a war that seems to never end. The body count is steadily rising on both sides of the spectrum. Men and women are coming home and many suffer because of the things that they have heard and seen. While our military continues to fight the fight on foreign soil the battle rages on here on the homefront. It seems as if everyone is feeling the need to find a bandwagon to jump on even if they have no idea what is going on. Gor example HealthCare Reform. I am an American who struggles, and if it wasn't for family then I would be sleeping on the streets. Because of HealthCare Reform I am able to have some medical coverage so that I can have a primary care doctor, and the medication that I need so that my seizures do not happen. My parents have been there when I have had seizures, and they have done what they needed to do so that I would not injure myself. My mother has made the ultimate sacrifice and payed a medical debt that I would have nevr been able to afford. I hope that one day I can have the ability to pay her back in full. She did not have to do what she did, but I am eternally grateful for her. I remember hearing my father say how helpless he felt while I was having a seizure. He stayed by my side so that I wouldn't hurt myself. To take away HealthCare Reform is to tell me that I don't deserve to have a primary care doctor and that I don't deserve to have the medication that keeps me from having seizures. I want you to picture me laying on the floor having a full blown seizure. I want you to put yourself in my fathers' shoes. Now maybe you will get my point. Everybody deserves Health Care, and I mean everybody.
The next issue is gun control. First of all is our constitutional right to have and bear arms. But where in that does it say that we have the right to own AK-47's and other assalt rifles that people are going out and filling their gun cabinets with. Those weapons do not belong in the hands of anyone other than our military who are defending our freedoms. Stricter gun laws need to be put in place so that things are more regulated when it comes to the buying and selling of guns. That is all I will say on that.
As an American people we need to support the President and not bash him. We have a country that is divided by two simple words- Democrat and Republican. These two words have divided families. I think that if I were to take a secret poll within my own family there would be a huge division, and I hope that were to never happen. We as a people need to unite as one. If you have not noticed people from other nations are pouring into this country because they want what we already have, The American Dream. We are so blessed to be here in this great country, where we have freedoms that others can only dream about.
I am proud to be be an African-American woman. I am the daughter of a white mother and black father. I am proud of the heritage that I was blessed with. Yes there who kids who did not understand why I was a different color than my mother, but I didn't care. I am honored to say that I had the opportunity to learn about other cultures when my mom married my step-father. I am a very culturally diversified woman. I am proud to say that I am the grand-daughter of two vetrans who fought on foreign soil, so that I could be free. I am so grateful for those who paved the way so that I could enjoy the freedoms that I have today. When I bleed, I bleed red just like you.
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
Saturday, January 12, 2013
A Parent's Love....
I tend to think a lot about lots of different things, and why things happen a certain way, or go in the direction that they do. I want to tell you a story today, to illustrate something that I feel is important to say. I want to tell you a story about a beautiful woman, she had a wonderful life, but in spite of that she was a bit of a rebel at times, not that she was bad it was that she would test the water as a youth. When she went to college she went to a school that was close to home, so she was able to live at home. As she was attending school, while going to the library she took notice of a rather handsome buff looking man. He was an athlete, and he had a sort of arrogance that she found to be rather attractive. While most people shake hands when introducing themselves, she hugged him when he formall introduced himself to her. They talked, hung out, dated, and talked some more, and they decided to move in together. Before I go on in farther I left out one detail this woman was raised in a Christian home, so what she was doing was contrary to what she was taught. This couple had a perfect life as so it seemed. This woman was so consumed in her relationship that she forgot about her family especially her parents, they tried to call her but she was always busy. Her father tried to reach out to her, but this woman did not want him meddling because she felt like she was grown. Somewhere between the lines she forgot that he was the one who had carried her on numerous occasions when she was unable to walk due to an illness that she had. He had been the one to wake up during the night to carry her to the bathroom and then he would sit up and wait then carry her back to her bed so that she would not have to crawl and scoot her way back. The woman's boyfriend became rather bothered by the fact that his girlfriend was not paying any attention to family and he began to feel some of the heat for what she was doing. This created tension between them. He began to go out and party again, and he felt like he could do whatever he wanted to do. The woman found herself on her parents doorstep crying, in a way she felt like the prodigal son, she found herself begging for their forgiveness. The tension between the man and the woman erupted and he ended up leaving, and she found herself boroken hearted. They each dealt with the break up differently. She cried herself sick everyday, and he went out and did things that were self destructive. They both moved on and she was able to find happiness, and he.......never did find true happiness.
I use this analogy because there are parents out there who have children who either have gone through this or are going through this. I think that if I was a parent I would have the hardest time sitting back on the sidelines I would want to be right in the middle and intervening. I think that parents will do anything for their children even if it means dying for them. There is always this notion that father's are extremely overprotective and that sometimes they can be to smothering especially when it comes to their daughters. I think that no man out there would want to see his daughter in a relationship that is destructive. I think that there are many father's out there who would be willing to take a beating to defend his child if they were in a relationship that was destructive. Not to leave out the mother's but I think that they are protective in a different way. When a mother see's her child in destructive relationship her heart hurts and yearns to be by the side of that child. Her nights are sleepless and she often finds herself on her knees praying for the safety of that child. As children we forget that parent's have made a commitment to love and take care of us. We often complain when they seem to smothering and at times we look at them as old fashioned. But I must say there is a father out there who loved his daughter so much that he was willing to put himself into the line of fire because he took the commitment that he made to love and to protect her seriously. He loved and protected not only his wife but each of his children. To see her struggling, and emotionally hurting was hard for him, because there was nothing that he could do to ease her pain, the only thing that he could do was to stand there with his arms outstretched to her, all she had to do was to get of her pride horse and to humble herself. I think that is how God is. We often times make mistakes and we find ourselves hitting rock bottom and it seems like there is no way out. It is only after when we humble ourselves and ask for fogiveness that we find a loving and merciful God with arms outstretched waiting for us. Just as God's love is never ending the love of a parent is never-ending.
I use this analogy because there are parents out there who have children who either have gone through this or are going through this. I think that if I was a parent I would have the hardest time sitting back on the sidelines I would want to be right in the middle and intervening. I think that parents will do anything for their children even if it means dying for them. There is always this notion that father's are extremely overprotective and that sometimes they can be to smothering especially when it comes to their daughters. I think that no man out there would want to see his daughter in a relationship that is destructive. I think that there are many father's out there who would be willing to take a beating to defend his child if they were in a relationship that was destructive. Not to leave out the mother's but I think that they are protective in a different way. When a mother see's her child in destructive relationship her heart hurts and yearns to be by the side of that child. Her nights are sleepless and she often finds herself on her knees praying for the safety of that child. As children we forget that parent's have made a commitment to love and take care of us. We often complain when they seem to smothering and at times we look at them as old fashioned. But I must say there is a father out there who loved his daughter so much that he was willing to put himself into the line of fire because he took the commitment that he made to love and to protect her seriously. He loved and protected not only his wife but each of his children. To see her struggling, and emotionally hurting was hard for him, because there was nothing that he could do to ease her pain, the only thing that he could do was to stand there with his arms outstretched to her, all she had to do was to get of her pride horse and to humble herself. I think that is how God is. We often times make mistakes and we find ourselves hitting rock bottom and it seems like there is no way out. It is only after when we humble ourselves and ask for fogiveness that we find a loving and merciful God with arms outstretched waiting for us. Just as God's love is never ending the love of a parent is never-ending.
A Different Kind of Christmas
Every year for the past several years I have gone back home to Idaho for Christmas to spend the holidays with my mom and dad and my sister and it is always something that I look forward to, but this year was the first year in awhile that I stayed home in California. In reflecting upon that it felt kind of bittersweet in a way, but I can truly say that I had a wonderful Christmas. As I prepared for the holiday season I found ways to bring Christmas into my home and into my life. The first thing that I did was to participate in the singing of Handel's Messiah. If anyone has heard or sung those magnificent choral pieces you know how wonderful they are. If you have not heard them before I recommend that you look up Handel's Messiah online and enjoy this wonderful oratorio for yourself. The next thing I did was to bring holiday cheer into my home was to make it feel like Christmas, I found a small tree and I added some holly and ivy. Since I was staying put I found myself in a baking mood. I made cookies, cakes, and chocolate, and I had so much fun especially when I had my music going. I found myself establishing my own traditions, yet finding time to remember many of the wonderful Christmas's that I have had throughout the years. Christmas Eve was spent with my extended family, and I must say that it was so wonderful to be there with them. As long as I could remember my family has always gotten together on Christmas Eve and even after families had moved, children have grown up the tradition still carries on. There may not be as many people as there once was but it always is the same. And oh I must add, I actually had fun singing Karaoke, at first I didn't want to but by golly it was so much fun. Christmas Day was spent at home. I was able to cook a turkey with all the trimmings, and when I cook my turkey I cook it the same way that my mother has always cooked hers. I think what made my day was hearing my father tell me that I I cook a really good turkey and I think for me that was the icing on the cake. I found time for quiet reflection that day and Christmas was not about things or the haves and have not's but it was about what was most important to me which is family. People today are so consumed with materialistic things and ideals and they forget what really matters most in life. Material things fade away but family never dies.
Photos from December 2011
Christmas 2012
(This is me singing karoke. I am actually having fun.)
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