With Open Hands

Proverbs 31:20 She opens her arms to the poor and extends her hands to the needy. My heart has been heavy in recent months, and even more so in recent days, as racial tensions have erupted throughout the nation and landed in our own Charlotte backyard this week. The solutions aren't easy, but acknowledgement of our current national crisis - and the responsibility that we, as a body of believers, carry - is a start. As fear threatens our homes with daily news of violence, I encourage you to check your hands. Many of us, when fearful and threatened, clench our fists tightly, holding them against ourselves. It's a defensive stance. Nothing can enter your hands, and nothing can leave your hands when you have them closed. Instead, I challenge you - literally and figuratively - to open your hands. Pray for our city leaders, our police officers, our neighbors. Pray for peace and unity. Be a conductor of love, not an enforcer of intolerance or escalation. Allow love, peace and kindness to flow to you and from you, and let healing begin.