Inspiration

The Bridge Endured

Rev Kathy

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The Broadway Bridge between Little Rock and North Little Rock, Arkansas has graced the Arkansas River for 93 years. Yesterday crowds of people showed up on the banks of the river to watch the Broadway Bridge implode. The charges detonated shortly after 10 a.m. and puffs of smoke could be seen coming from the bridge. The steel from the bridge was supposed to fall into the Arkansas River within minutes. But after the smoke cleared, the bridge was still standing. They called it a failed implosion.

That old bridge was apparently stronger and more firmly and deeply fixed than the engineers thought. The explosives were carefully calculated and placed. The charges detonated like they were supposed to. The bridge simply did not fall. And the people were asking, “why are we replacing a bridge that is strong enough to withstand an explosion?”

The people renamed the stubborn Broadway Bridge “the Darn Bridge.” It refused to fall down after being hit with a Big Bang, and crews made seven additional attempts to pull it down with cables and barges. In five hours — around 3:00pm yesterday– the bridge finally came down.

I could not help but make an analogy regarding humans. The world may seriously underestimate how deeply and firmly rooted we are. I am certain that throughout my own life people have watched from afar to see me fall. Sometimes people are like that. Sometimes others relish in our failures. But the truth remains constant. We a deeply rooted and grounded because of the depth of our faith. Life’s explosions cannot destroy us.

We stand strong. We have built our lives on a firm foundation. We endure. We can withstand attempts to destroy us. It’s good news.

You must remain firmly established and steadfast in the faith, without being moved from the hope of the gospel that you heard.

Colossians 1:23

Beauty of Nature, Inspiration

Seeing the Holy in the Ordinary

Rev Kathy

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To see the holy in the ordinary . . . that is something to aspire to. Seeing the holy in the ordinary can change one’s life, making mundane activities into sacred moments. Learning to savor our days and the experiences that fill our lives can transform us.

Normally, we are a people content with the unremarkable, everyday moments, accepting the usual happenings without thought. But what if the flutter of butterfly wings prompted a season of contemplation? What if birdsong became a symphony of the spirit? What if the gentle breeze rearranged the story of our souls?

Macrina Wiederkehr writes of bringing the longings of our hearts into every present moment. She writes about finding the sacred in the ordinary by gathering up joys and sorrows, struggles and beauty. She urges us to gather the dreams and hopes of every hour that “they may be consecrated at the altar of daily life.”

Oh, that our lives might be open to holy moments and sacred days. God would be well pleased.

Dry seasons of life

Cleansing Rain

Rev Kathy

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“The cleansing rains let parched men and women flower toward the sun.”

When the spirit is dry, cleansing rains refresh us. It’s a wonderful thought for those who suffer from depression, anxiety, or spiritual dryness. It happens to all of us, no matter how strong our faith.

i am struggling with a parched time of life right now. I’m clinging to my faith, to the loved ones who have my back, and to the promise of cleansing, refreshing soul-healing rains. And I am strengthened by this prayer.

A prayer by Rabbi Sidney Greenberg
We pray that we might know before whom we stand: The Power whose gift is life, who quickens those who have forgotten how to live.

We pray for winds to disperse the choking air of sadness, for cleansing rains to make parched hopes flower, and to give all of us the strength to rise up towards the sun.

We pray for love to encompass us for no other reason save that we are human—that we may all blossom into persons who have gained power over our lives.

We pray to stand upright, we fallen; to be healed, we sufferers; we pray to break the bonds that keep us from the world of beauty; we pray for opened eyes, we who are blind to our authentic selves.

We pray that we may walk in the garden of a purposeful life, our own powers in touch with the power of the world.

Praise to the G_d whose gift is life, whose cleansing rains let parched men and women flower toward the sun.

Amen.

Inspiration, Life storms

Rooted and Grounded

Rev Kathy

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For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height— to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

Ephesians 3:14-19 New King James Version (NKJV)

Being rooted and grounded is important. It gives us the ability to stand fast in the face of life’s storms. It gives us the grace to endure trials. As the scripture passage says, it makes us able “to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height — to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge . . . and to be filled with all the fullness of God.”

With that kind of rootedness, we can live life to the fullest, with confidence and assurance. So how do we stay rooted and grounded? I think there are at least two ways. First, cherish long-term, genuine relationships and friendships. Nourish them and open your heart to the people who love you. Stay close. Create abiding bonds.

Secondly, nourish your faith. Honor your relationship with God and allow it to grow and deepen.

Set your feet firmly on the solid foundations of relationships and faith and you will find yourself rooted and grounded in love, forever.

Hope

Rise Up

Rev Kathy

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You’re broken down and tired
Of living life on a merry-go-round
And you can’t find the fighter
But I see it in you so we gonna walk it out
And move mountains
We gonna walk it out
And move mountains.

And I’ll rise up
I’ll rise like the day
I’ll rise up
I’ll rise unafraid
I’ll rise up
And I’ll do it a thousand times again.

It’s a powerful message sung by Andra Day, and it speaks to those who feel that they have lost hope. To be sure, there are times in life when we can’t find the fighter in ourselves. There are times when we feel broken down and tired, wondering if there is even a small possibility that we can pick ourselves up and move forward.

But I love the hope-filled promise in this song — that we can rise up unafraid and do it over and over again. It’s the resilience we find within ourselves. It’s the unbreakable will that gives us the ability to move mountains. I love that thought.

Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. And nothing will be impossible for you.”

– Matthew 17:20

Creating

Oriental Rug

Rev Kathy

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Oriental rugs are woven by hand. Usually, there will be a group of people weaving a single rug together under the directions of an artist who issues instructions to the rest. The artist determines the choice of colors and the nature of the pattern.

Often one of the weavers inserts the wrong color thread. The artist may have called for blue and instead black was used. If you examine an oriental rug carefully, you may be able to detect such irregularities. What is significant about them is that they were not removed. The skillful artist just proceeded to weave them into the pattern.

Here is wise counsel for our lives. We would like the patterns of our lives to be woven exclusively of brightly-colored threads, woven without flaw into the pattern. But every now and then, a dark thread steals into the fabric. If we are true artists of life, we can weave even a dark, out-of-place thread into the pattern and make it contribute its share to the beauty of the world.

– Rabbi Sidney Greenberg

This is wonderful piece of wisdom attributed to Rabbi Sidney Greenberg. I can say assuredly that dark threads have have made their way into the pattern of my life. The off-colored threads were always noticeable and out of place, threatening to spoil the beautiful weaving. But the truth is that the dark threads worked themselves in with scarcely any notice of a flaw. The beauty was still there, even with dark threads all over the place, woven into the lovely pattern that was my life.

Change, Loss, Transformation

Broken Pieces

Rev Kathy

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Broken places. We’ve all got them.

There is no way to get through life without a broken place or two. But being broken isn’t the worst thing. We can put ourselves back together in time. We can heal at the broken places of our lives. We can accept the wounds we have experienced and know that because of them, we have grown stronger and wiser. We can courageously embrace the life history that made us who we are, and see our cracks as beautiful.

The alternative is to let our past define us, to get stuck in our brokenness and refuse to get beyond the hurt. Ernest Hemingway expressed it well in A Farewell to Arms (1929). “The world breaks everyone and afterward many are strong at the broken places.”

Kintsukuroi is the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery with lacquer dusted or mixed with powdered gold, silver, or platinum. The art is based on the understanding that the repaired piece is more beautiful for having been broken. What a wonderful philosophy to apply to our own brokenness. How wonderful to believe that we are better for having been broken.

She made broken look beautiful
and strong look invincible.
She walked with the Universe
on her shoulders and made it
look like a pair of wings.
― Ariana Dancu

Joy, simple joys

Good Things Happen

Rev Kathy

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Good things happen. Life is filled with them, but sometimes we hardly notice. My husband and I woke up this morning, ready to enjoy another day of life. The mockingbird in the neighborhood is still singing his ever-changing song. The hummingbirds are still buzzing around the feeders. The leaves are beginning to take on fall colors. The morning breeze has a new Autumn crispness.

Sure, life has its challenges. I am dealing with health issues every day. I worry about my husband. I worry about the future. I miss my grandchildren who live far away. Most of all, I feel a sense of dread about life changes.

But I don’t want to let those feelings overshadow the good things. Yes, most of us fear change. I like to remember, though, that every good thing that has happened in my life happened because something changed.

Maya Angelou wrote, “We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty.”

So let the changes come, as inevitably they will, and I will embrace the good and beautiful things they bring my way. Good things happen!

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.    – James 1:17

Beauty of Nature, simple joys

Small Things

Rev Kathy

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I find so much beauty in small things. Nothing delights me more than the hummingbirds that zoom across my front yard feeding and playing chase with one another, daring each other to approach the feeder.

How often we forget the message of small things, especially when life’s big things are in disarray. But the small things help us focus on special moments, special people, special events that we take for granted.

I cannot express this message better than Bishop Steven Charleston.

The message is in the small things. Sometimes when we are focused so intently on the major issues of our lives, we walk right past the small signs of hope scattered around us like wildflowers. The beauty of a summer sunset, the kindness of the shopkeeper, the call from an old friend, the playfulness of the family pet: all of these things and a thousand more are the steady stream of grace that flows past us each day.

Indeed, we are greatly blessed by the small graces that stream through our lives.

Darkness, Hope, Spiritual growth

Wounds and Light

Rev Kathy

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The dark night of the soul is a journey into light, a journey from your darkness into the strength and hidden resources of your soul.

– Caroline Myss

Lately I have been thinking a lot about darkness. It’s not a very good place to be, but it’s my current reality. Melancholy has edged in on my usually bright being through memories that I would rather forget. Perhaps this is a reflection time for me, giving me a chance to revisit some wounded places and apply additional healing balm to them. Perhaps God wants to speak clearer to me in the darkness, at a vulnerable time.

The darkness doesn’t feel good to me, though. Each day, I dread nightfall in fear that its darkness will punctuate the darkness of my spirit. I am recalling dark, long nights when I was in the hospital. I am remembering some of the wounds of my spirit that happened so long ago. I am examining those wounds with a boat load of anxiety.

In this, perhaps God has a purpose. Perhaps I need to more fully develop a spirituality that prevails even in darkness. Perhaps, as Barbara Brown Taylor suggests, I need to learn about walking in the dark. Perhaps I am being called to explore what I might gain by embracing the darkness. Perhaps I need to lean into Taylor’s encouragement to “turn out the lights and embrace the spiritual darkness, for it is in the dark that one can truly see.” (Learning to Walk in the Dark, 2014) Is it not true that the time when we most closely draw near to God is during a dark night of the soul?

Yet I long for brightness to return. I miss the days just a few weeks ago when all felt well in my world. Still, I am making the best of it, knowing that this phase will eventually pass. I am stretching to reach the light and bring it near. I am holding on tightly to God, who represents for me all that is light.

Sometimes, just a thought, a word, a memory can bring a little light and hope into my spirit. I ran across this quote by Rumi just yesterday. It lifts up hope in me.

The wound is the place where the Light enters you.
― Rumi

Change

Change

Rev Kathy
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The Little Red River, Arkansas

“You can not step twice into the same river.”

That is a snippet of wisdom attributed to Heraclitus of Ephesus, a Greek philosopher known for his doctrine of change being central to the universe. He spoke of certain and constant change a very long time ago, 535 BC – 475 BC, but his philosophy resonates as much today as it did when he wrote it centuries ago..

There have been many variants of his philosophy of change:

  • Everything flows, nothing stands still.
  • Nothing endures but change.
  • Everything changes and nothing stands still.
  • Everything flows and nothing stays.
  • Everything flows and nothing abides.
  • Everything gives way and nothing stays fixed.
  • All is flux, nothing stays still.

It is true that a river constantly flows, so by the time we step into it a second time, the river has changed. And the truth is that we change, too, every day, every minute, as we live out our lives. The well-lived life is one that embraces change as growth, that greets each new day as another chance.

But aren’t we all creatures who value sameness, who resist change because we fear it? Don’t we feel safer when nothing changes in any significant way? Don’t we struggle to maintain life as it is, with every yesterday being just like every tomorrow?

I like the idea of stepping with courage into that flowing and ever-changing river. And I like the wisdom of Alan W. Watts:

“The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance.”

Hope

Fear

Rev Kathy
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Photo by Ken Lowery

In some very important ways, hope is the antithesis to fear. It is not uncommon to live in a state of fear, looking back at mistakes, remembering failures, allowing the past to spill fear into the present. But fear is not a good life companion. It prevents the dreaming of new dreams. It covers the spirit with hesitance and uncertainty.

Hope is fear’s enemy. When hope fills the heart, there is no room for fear. When hope guides our decisions, fear is obliterated. The only thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve is the fear of failure. Our reality is rock solid, a God who knows about our fear and sticks close to us. I am moved by the description of God in The Message: “granite-strength and safe-harbor God.” This is a passage from Psalm 62.

My help and glory are in God
—granite-strength and safe-harbor-God—
So trust him absolutely, people;
lay your lives on the line for him.
God is a safe place to be.

Psalm 62:7-8 The Message

Even in the throes of fear, we have this granite-strength, safe-harbor God, and that is enough. In that God, we exchange fear for hope. I leave you with a blessing from Nelson Mandela:

May your choices reflect your hopes, not your fears.

Amen.

Freedom, Inspiration

With Hearts Wide Open

Rev Kathy

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There is nothing as harmful as a closed heart. So many things can close a heart . . . A loved one’s death, a ruined relationship, a loss of career and livelihood. When tragedies occur, they hurt so badly that the heart can close itself off from the pain. The problem is that a heart closed to pain may also be closed to love, joy and hope.

It can become a faith crisis for anyone. It can become chronic and it can last for years. The question is always how can we keep our hearts open when it is holding such deep pain? The answer is difficult to find. The answer can elude us.

But there are some obvious remedies. It is possible to open our hearts to the messages of Scripture, to the comforting strains of sacred hymns, to comforting words from those who care for us, to holy moments of contemplation and prayer.

Andrea Keh writes this:

To live with an open heart is to remember that the essence of our true self is love. We must forgive, heal and feel the depths of our emotions before we have the space to connect deeper and higher. This open heart space is where we reflect divine love and light for each other!

So let us greet this new day with hearts wide open, honoring the past, but savoring the future.

God's presence, Life Journeys, Life pathways

The God of Our Journeys

Rev Kathy

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Life is very much like a journey. As our days pass, we travel a path that leads us through valleys and mountains, forests and meadows, roads that present obstacles that hinder us. Many people have said life is not an easy road.

It’s not so much like a journey on planes, trains and automobiles. Its more like a soul journey, walking on pathways, steep and narrow, sometimes clear and sometimes ridden with obstacles. Sometimes smooth, often rocky. So we travel with the prayer that God will be walking with us.

God’s presence makes this journey possible. Through every darkened starry night, when the light of dawn appears, over bridges, across deep valleys and rocky ridges, God is close by. In times of war and times of peace, in days of sorrow and suffering, during times of great happiness, God is with us on this journey.

When the psalmist asks where he might go to be outside God’s presence, he declares:

Suppose I had wings
like the dawning day
and flew across the ocean.
Even then your powerful arm
would guide and protect me.
(Psalm 139:9-10, CEV)

Thanks be to the God of our journeys.

Beauty of Nature, God's Faithfulness, Light

Morning by Morning

Rev Kathy

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“Morning by morning new mercies I see.”

What a beautiful thought from the hymn, “Great Is Thy Faithfulness.” The hymn, one of my favorites, is filled with comforting images that describe the faithfulness of God. The words were written in 1923 by Thomas Obediah Chisholm, and the hymn continues to bless to this day.

A few weeks ago, I experienced a long night of fearfulness. In the early hours of the morning, I found myself still wide awake. Unable to sleep, my mind turned to concerns and worries that I could not shake. From out of nowhere, this hymn came to mind and I began singing silently in the night. A sense of comfort and protection swept over me, and I was again reminded of the deep comfort that this hymn brings. These words stilled my soul and sustained me until the light of morning.

“Great is Thy faithfulness,” O God my Father,
There is no shadow of turning with Thee;
Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not
As Thou hast been Thou forever wilt be.

“Great is Thy faithfulness!” “Great is Thy faithfulness!”
Morning by morning new mercies I see;
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided—
“Great is Thy faithfulness,” Lord, unto me!

Summer and winter, and springtime and harvest,
Sun, moon and stars in their courses above,
Join with all nature in manifold witness
To Thy great faithfulness, mercy and love.

Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth,
Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide;
Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow,
Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside!

How true is the thought, “morning by morning new mercies I see.” I am moved by the words of Bishop Steven Charleston who writes of the new beginning of every first light, how we are set free by the new light on more mornings than we can count. These are his words.

Here is the hand of morning, coming so quietly to part the curtain, letting in the first light, welcoming the wide-eyed day into the sleepy corners of our lives. A new beginning is the miracle that awaits each one of us. We are the people of new beginnings, each one of us, brought here by more mornings than we can count, fresh chances from an older life, a turn of events, a change of mind, an unexpected friend, how many different mornings have we seen? You and I are made of morning, set free by the new light, forever being welcomed into a life that is just beginning.

Life does bring dark nights, times that challenge our hearts and assault our spirits. But there is great comfort in knowing that the morning dawns, every time, bringing new hope and fresh beginnings. God is faithful to be present with us in the deep watches of hard nights. God also is the creator of new mornings and new mercies.

 

God's Faithfulness

Wilderness Wanderings

Rev Kathy

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Do you ever feel that you are wandering aimlessly through a wilderness? There have been times when I could describe my life as wilderness wanderings . . . no direction, no sense of how to get past the desert, no way to escape. It is not a pleasant state of being. But it is not uncommon.

Generally wilderness wanderings follow the loss of a loved one, the ending of a relationship, a crisis in a career. When a person simply doesn’t see a clear path, the wandering begins. It can feel endless and lonely. It can raise fear and cause deep uncertainty.

While we may not be delivered from it right away, we can find comfort through it. Our faith can sustain us and remind us that God never leaves us or forsakes us. Many Biblical passages bring comfort and hope. One of my favorites is rather obscure, so I want to share it with you.

The Lord said, “Therefore, I will now persuade Israel, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak tenderly to her. From there I will give her her vineyards, and make the Valley of Achor a door of hope.

– Hosea 2:14-23 (NRSV)

Friendship, Generosity

On Lovingkindness

Rev Kathy

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Too often we use words of Scripture to prove a point. It can be a bad practice. Yet at times there are words that seem to speak clearly to our times. Such is this passage from the Book of Leviticus that is a clear call for lovingkindness.

When a foreigner resides among you in your land, do not mistreat them. The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt. I am the Lord your God.

– Leviticus 19:33-34 New International Version (NIV)

This is what I hear clearly in this passage. The Lord is our God. And God commands us to treat foreign-born citizens with respect and love. It is as simple as that.

Juxtapose that command with the many voices calling for mass deportations, dividing immigrant families, and refusing to offer welcome to refugees fleeing from danger in their homeland. How can those who profess that they are people of faith advocate for unwelcoming national policy?

I cannot answer that question. I do not understand. What I do understand is this:

– 8.4 million Syrian children, inside and outside the country, are in need of humanitarian aid, and millions have borne witness to unrelenting violence from the brutal conflict that began more than five years ago.

– 2.6 million Syrian children are no longer in school and more than 2.5 million are living as refugees in neighboring countries or on the run in search of safety, helping to fuel a global migrant crisis.

– Syria is now the world’s biggest producer of both internally displaced people and refugees. Many children have spent several bitter winters living in makeshift shelters without adequate protection from the cold. (unicefusa.org)

On the brighter side the U.S. accepted more than 2,300 Syrian refugees in June of 2016 alone, sending the fiscal year total soaring past the 5,000 mark and putting the government on track to surpass President Obama’s goal of 10,000 by the end of September. (washingtontimes.com)

May God fill our hearts with compassion and lovingkindness. May our nation become a welcoming place of refuge. May we love others as we love ourselves.

Freedom

I Am Enough

Rev Kathy

 

 

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Oh, the curse that taught us we have to be perfect! Many of us spent too many precious years of our lives striving for perfection, oblivious to the fact that perfection is simply not possible. What was it that made so many of us try to overcompensate and to convince ourselves that perfectionism is a quality?

Very late in life, I learned to embrace the phrase, “I am enough!” When I embraced that, I found freedom in my life. I found release from my own expectations. I found that I was liberated from an all-consuming desire to have the approval and admiration of other people.

It is, of course, worthwhile to teach our children to always strive to be the best they can be and to dream expansive dreams. But it is just as important to teach them, “You are enough just the way you are.”

Here’s what I see as I look back on my life: Everything did not have to be perfect. Every project did not have to be flawless. Every sermon did not have to be profound. The house did not have to be impeccably decorated and spotless. My child did not have to excel in all things. I did not have to give everyone the impression that I could not fail.

One does not walk into the forest and accuse the trees of being off-center. Nor do they visit the shore and call the waves imperfect. So why do we look at ourselves this way?

– Tao Te Ching

A blessing of older age is the honest belief — finally — that I am enough!

Courage, Faith, Life pathways

A Courageous Heart

Rev Kathy
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From the top of Mount Nebo in Arkansas

Sometimes things don’t work out as we hope they will. We have plans covered by faith, and we work hard to make our plans come to fruition. We have goals that we strive to achieve. We have dreams that we hope for. But dreams can be lost, and we are forced to dream new dreams and move forward.

The story of Moses tells how he led his people through the wilderness in hopes of reaching the land promised by God. Moses wandered the desert with a courageous heart. Along the way, he encountered all manner of experiences, the parting of the Red Sea, receiving the Ten Commandments, his experience with a bush that burned. Moses was honored by being appointed by God to lead the Israelites out of Egypt and into Canaan.

But in spite of God’s anointing, Moses never went into the land of promise. This is what happened to Moses on Mount Nebo.

Then Moses went up from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, which is across from Jericho. And the Lord showed him all the land of Gilead as far as Dan, all Naphtali and the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the Western Sea, the South, and the plain of the Valley of Jericho, the city of palm trees, as far as Zoar. Then the Lord said to him, “This is the land of which I swore to give Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, ‘I will give it to your descendants.’ I have caused you to see it with your eyes, but you shall not cross over there.

Deuteronomy 34:1-4

It is true that Moses died without experiencing the promise, but oh, the miracles he saw along the journey! The lesson for us is to truly experience the sacred moments of our journeys, to savor the holy happenings, to take in the miracles that God shows us.

May God grant us eyes to see burning bushes and a heart courageous enough to cross Red Seas.

Friendship

Dear President Obama

Rev Kathy

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Dear President Obama,

Remember the boy who was picked up by the ambulance in Syria? Can you please go get him and bring him to [my home]? Park in the driveway or on the street and we will be waiting for you guys with flags, flowers, and balloons. We will give him a family and he will be our brother. Catherine, my little sister, will be collecting butterflies and fireflies for him. In my school, I have a friend from Syria, Omar, and I will introduce him to Omar. We can all play together. We can invite him to birthday parties and he will teach us another language. We can teach him English too, just like my friend Aoto from Japan.

Please tell him that his brother will be Alex who is a very kind boy, just like him. Since he won’t bring toys and doesn’t have toys Catherine will share her big blue stripy white bunny. And I will share my bike and I will teach him how to ride it. I will teach him additions and subtractions in math. And he [can] smell Catherine’s lip gloss penguin which is green. She doesn’t let anyone touch it.

Thank you very much! I can’t wait for you to come!

Alex

6 years old

Last month, like people around the world, Alex was moved by the heartbreaking images of Omran Daqneesh, a five-year-old boy in Aleppo, Syria, sitting in an ambulance, in shock as he tried to wipe the blood from his hands.

In his letter, Alex told President Obama that he wanted Omran to come live with him and his family. He wanted to share his bike, and teach him how to ride. He said his little sister would collect butterflies for him. “We can all play together,” he wrote. “We will give him a family and he will be our brother.”

Those are the words of a six-year-old boy — a young child who has not learned to be cynical or suspicious or fearful of other people because of where they come from, how they look, or how they pray.

We’ll be waiting with flags, flowers and balloons.

With these words, we adults learn an important lesson from a six year old. Can we become as compassionate and welcoming to those who need a place to call home? Can we look at other humans as our brothers and sisters? Can we play together and work together to create a better world?

Can we?