Rodney's Rambling's

 Memorial Day in the hood  - back in the day   I have a confession to make.  Although I have celebrated Memorial Day since I learned to walk, it was not until I was an adult that I learned what Memorial Day was. So for most of that time, I had no clue that it was connected to war and military service, honoring those who had died.   We celebrated a different kind of war and our dead who had died fighting to just survive.  You see, for my family in East St. Louis -a.k.a. the Hood, Memorial Day was a day to honor the elders. Elders who had paved the way lived in the harshest of times, and endured the strain of America's stain -the racial warriors.   So early, before breakfast, we would gather at what had been the only graveyard where Blacks could be buried.  And there we would go through the ritual of pulling weeds, cutting grass, trimming bushes, and laying reefs and flowers.  There was always a senior member of the family that would scout out each grave site and with us young’un

 Vietnam Memorial Remembrance – doing something right even when it is considered wrong.                                                                                      Me after Vietnam One of the realities of time is that the more you experience, the more you remember or try to forget. But forgetting does not work, at least not for me; it just delays the moments that will surely come. So as I think about those events, some six decades ago, that forever changed my life -I still wonder what my life would have been like had I made different choices. Ok, what the hell? Let's talk about that time, those choices, and how they dramatically shifted my trajectory.   The year 1966 -I had just graduated from high school and was starting college. Although I was a member of the elite, deferment – so the draft was not an issue, I could not avoid the controversy of the period. I was growing up in what some call the hood -E. St. Louis -meant that many, if not most, of my high school m

  Some work the fields while others work their spirit -it's all good From Luke 10:38-42 we read: 38  As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him.   39   She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what he said.   40   But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, "Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!" 41   "Martha, Martha,"  the Lord answered,  "you are worried and upset about many things,   42   but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her."   So often, some complain that they are doing all the work, while others seemingly sit back and do nothing. Maybe the situation is different, and perhaps they are doing what they need to do at that time. Maybe each of u

  Let Go and Let God – but I did, and nothing happened. Go to any corner of the world, choose any religion, and you will consistently find people praying. Even among some atheists, prayer is ubiquitous; it crosses every border, context, and season. Prayer connects one to their spirituality and to other believers.   To let go and let God does not mean stopping what you need to do. It means you must continue plowing the fields, pulling the weeds, and planting the seeds. It means that once you have done all you can, you rely upon God to send rain and sunshine in due season. It means you must still tend the field and watch out for pests. It means that you stop worrying, stop stressing, and trust that God will do what God does -to bless your efforts. But you keep working, believing, and making each day your best day. And so you prayed and prayed, and still, nothing happened. Even though you spoke in tongues, lighted dozens of candles, fasted, and meditated, nothing happened. You even

   Let Go and Let God -but what happens when God puts us on hold? And so you have prayed, knocked on many doors, sought answers to the questions that plague you; the circumstances still confound you, and still, you have no answers; the doors remain shut, and you have not found what you have been seeking. What now? Do you give up, throw in the towel, and declare that God has failed to live up to His word? Or is there a deeper meaning in all of this? Surely, God has not abandoned or left us without a word for these moments when all we see is confusion. I would suggest, "We must determine if it is in the time of God." Put simply, Has God put you on Hold?"  I hear you out there. Let's see what the Bible tells us.   I am reminded of the Children in Isreal, just after they had been rescued from slavery. In a desert, when all progress stopped, they wandered in the wilderness for 40 years. (Exo. 13: 21-22: Num. 14:14). They were not without guidance, for the Lord gave

Let Go and Let God -Are you serious.     So often, I hear someone say they envy me and want to be me. My response invariably is, "Don't be envious, for I got this far by failure, faith, and grace. Yes, I have a Bachelor's, two Master's, and a Ph.D.  But this has been a bumpy ride with many twists, turns, and restarts."   So while my ancestors kicked down walls and barricades, my road has not been a bed of roses. It's raining, the sky is cloudy, and it seems all is doom and gloom. I find it most difficult to get past the melancholy in times like this, days like this. Then I am reminded of what I have heard so often. "Let go and let God." But what does it mean to do this?  For many people, these ideas need to be revised. They tend to feel that their efforts cease once they give it to God. And then, when their prayers are not answered, their situation is not resolved, and they essentially lose the war. They blame God. Angry, frustrated, and now distra