Capital Prayer Alert

Summer is upon us, and with it comes a bit of a slower pace and a time of reflection on both a personal level and as a country.

The end of a most unusual school year is a welcome marker for students who spent the year in virtual classes, or in an in-person/virtual hybrid or meeting in person but wearing masks and experiencing limited social interactions with fellow students.

I often wonder how they will describe this past school year once they have some distance from it. And, I suspect the regular school year experience in the coming fall will be anticipated with excitement like no other school start in their young lives!

This summer will look far more "normal" than last. The pandemic is at a very different place, thankfully. Opportunities to mix and mingle with relatives, friends, and the general public are a huge and welcome change. With that increased interaction will come reflective conversations on the path our country has been on during these last 17 months, and a measured and serious look at where we are headed.

Unlike this time last year, we are not in the throes of a high-octane political campaign. That level of vitriol and intensity on a constant basis do not make for a healthy country with a robust future. Now, we have a little distance, and with that comes the opportunity to take stock on a personal and national level.

As we all reconnect at family reunions, picnics, by the neighborhood pool, at a Fourth of July barbeque or at the playground, I encourage you to just chat with others using the news of the day to jumpstart a conversation. It feels like we are coming out of a pandemic cocoon, and things have changed rapidly in that time period.

Don't get me wrong. I am not encouraging you to get in the trenches of a pitched battle of Trump vs. Biden 2.0. But I do encourage you to be open and willing to talk to people outside your immediate circle. I suspect you will be pleasantly surprised at what you learn.

For instance, are you as curious as I am to know what the parents of school-age children think about Critical Race Theory, which has made its way into the curriculum of many neighborhood schools? Do they know what is being taught to formative youngsters?

Did they find out by casually hearing a Zoom class or from the local news? Do they think it is a healthy foundation for our country's future?

Do they plan to talk to their children this summer about Martin Luther King's timeless speech charging us as a country to judge people by the content of their character and not the color of their skin?

Frankly, the one good thing to come out of this most unusual school year is that parents across the country have become more involved in the schooling of their youngsters. And many were shocked by what they saw and heard.

With the Olympics to start in a matter of weeks, a conversation on the movement to let (and even encourage) biological boys compete in women's sports, thus tipping the scale against women, would be timely.

I wonder how it feels to be a teenage female track star, a young woman who had her sights set on a college scholarship, only to lose a state title because she was forced to compete against a biological boy who identifies as a girl. Years of practice dashed by a woke culture that now seems to care little for feminism. How does that young woman and her parents deal with this? Will girls' sports ever be the same?

Another issue constantly in the news is immigration. Record breaking numbers of illegal aliens are streaming across our border, while drug cartels are making millions trafficking in human beings. When you add in the stories of young children abandoned by the cartels and the astronomical amounts of fentanyl pouring into the country, it is tragedy upon tragedy.

Those trying to come to America through the well-established legal immigration system are left feeling hopeless. And the bill for the taxpayer goes through the roof. Many migrants have halting English at best. The education of their children will take away from the education of American children in a system that is already struggling.

I can't imagine that most Americans think the present situation is ideal. Where do we go from here? What ideas do you or your conversational partners have to address this crisis?

I'm simply encouraging all of us to be willing to talk, ask questions and think about the ramifications of today's headlines. COVID-19 drove many of us to a life inside a small bubble of family and friends. As we emerge from our bubbles, we are seeing a society that has radically changed and will continue on this track unless we talk with one another.

I bet we will be pleasantly surprised to find how open people are to talking in a non-confrontational setting. We need this as a country. And then with what we learn we may be able to move forward in surprising numbers.

Go to the Lord and ask Him for wisdom in the conversations ahead. Pray that you would seek and find openings that are prompted by the news and, therefore, come naturally. Ask God to generously give you words and thoughts that represent His truth and the ability to share your heart with confidence and love.

Pray that those with whom you converse would be relaxed and open to a reasoned discussion about issues in the news. May the Lord break down existing barriers and lay the groundwork for respectful and fruitful conversations.

Ask the Lord to bless our country as we struggle with so many differences and seem to have fewer and fewer things that unite us.