Today is the official release of my first book. I say "first" with a little bit of a smile because I honestly don't know if there will be a second. I can hope, and I have an idea percolating; however, I now know the amount of time and effort publishing a book takes -- and mine isn't even that long! So, who knows if the "first" will be nixed from my opening sentence over time? We shall see.
As I reflect on my (first) book, "Is That Poop on My Arm?: Parenting While Christian," I realized that my writing journey as a parent-preacher was really an extended exercise in pausing and listening to my kids. My little book is a series of theological reflections that happened only because I paused...I listened. It sounds simple; it's not.
Parenting can be a frenetic and frantic rush of body, mind, and soul. Moments of quiet reflection are ephemeral if not altogether absent especially with a young one or two clinging onto your leg. It takes effort and sustained energy to pause. Seems paradoxical, when I consider it: you need energy to stop expending energy. But I have come to discover that it is true. Though it takes intentional effort and energy to pause, it was necessary for me to do so in order to truly listen to my children. And when I listened, my world was changed. I think my book happened only because I paused. I paused, and I listened. And I was changed.
And now I take this life lesson for me in my little book-writing process and apply it to the seriousness of the situation before our country. My transition here is awkward, I recognize this. But I believe my book-writing learning is applicable.
These days I think it is all the more crucial for us all to pause...to listen. As I tuned in to Dr. Christine Blasey Ford's testimony on September 27th, I couldn't help but pause, stop. For I, along with millions of Americans, heard a survivor's story of sexual assault. Dr. Blasey Ford spoke her truth of sexual assault over 30 years ago at the hands of now Supreme Court nominee Mr. Brett Kavanaugh. It was a moment that demanded our nation to pause...to listen.
But I noticed that the powers of patriarchy and privilege have a difficult time pausing and listening to anyone or anything that confronts and challenges them. It was evident to me in the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing room following Dr. Blasey Ford's powerful testimony that many could not and still have not paused, truly paused and listened to Dr. Blasey Ford. And it has been clear to me that patriarchy and privilege at work in our culture have been unable to do the same.
As one who benefits from entrenched systems of white privilege and patriarchy, I believe the call to me is clear: to pause and to listen to the testimony of others who have suffered mightily at these systems of oppression. This works takes energy, to be sure. When you (me!) are caught up in the systems that push and pull in all sorts of directions, it takes sustained energy to stop and pay attention. It requires waking up to the world as it is. To pause...to listen...to pay attention so that change and transformation of heart and of culture may occur. Only when we wake to the way the world is will we be ready to dream the world into a new reality. A reality where women are fully heard and honored; a reality where sexual violence is no more; a reality where white men can loose our grasp on chains of privilege that bind us so that all may be free.
In Dr. Blasey Ford's own testimony, she named the response she has experienced at the hands of our culture that operates without pause buttons and the sexist structures that refuse to listen. She stated,
"Apart from the assault itself, these last couple of weeks have been the hardest of my life. I have had to relive my trauma in front of the entire world, and have seen my life picked apart by people on television, in the media, and in this body who have never met me or spoken with me. I have been accused of acting out of partisan political motives. Those who say that do not know me. I am a fiercely independent person and I am no one’s pawn. My motivation in coming forward was to provide the facts about how Mr. Kavanaugh’s actions have damaged my life, so that you can take that into serious consideration as you make your decision about how to proceed. It is not my responsibility to determine whether Mr. Kavanaugh deserves to sit on the Supreme Court. My responsibility is to tell the truth."
And our responsibility to Dr. Blasey Ford and anyone with courage and conviction to share their truth about sexual violence is to pause. Pause. Listen...truly listen.
We have a week now to pause and listen. I would argue it is not enough time given the gravity of Dr. Blasey Ford's testimony. But, I am grateful we have this moment at least in country's collective consciousness.
My prayer is that I continue to pause and listen. And that is my prayer for us all.
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(The above quote is taken from this website; you can also (re)listen to Dr. Blasey Ford here as well.)
https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2018/09/27/dr_christine_blasey_ford_brett_kavanaugh_the_boy_who_sexually_assaulted_me.html