Safety In Numbers Or In Unshakable Faith?
Finding People To Trust In A World Built On Shaky Ground
I am struck by a dichotomy that I am facing lately that is causing me to question how I view the world. We live under an unspoken set of rules, generally speaking, and we build expectations around these rules. From under these rules we shape our lives, our behavior, our interactions with one another and even our belief systems. Under these rules we move about and we’ve done this for so long that now, as I watch the aftermath of what amounts to a 7.5 earthquake taking place,
it is the subsequent liquefaction created from this great upheaval that is causing the ground under me to wobble and I am admittedly feeling around for a handhold to steady myself.
It seems to me that the rules that I have found solace in for so long are becoming unclear and difficult to live under as I watch what should be a “coming together” actually turn into a “falling apart”.
As someone who believes in God and studies the word of God, I have come to understand that the ready answer to this is to “trust God” or “give it to God” yet even in doing these two things, I also see that He is asking of me far more than I ever thought was required of me. It isn’t that I thought that being a believer made me exempt from troubles, it’s more just that I thought my faith would shore me up in a way that would make me strong enough to withstand the 7.5 on the richter scale and be able to dust myself off, sweep up a bit, maybe go help a neighbor clear debris off of his land and then go home and drink some water from my survival water filter and plug away at the days in the wake.
What’s happened though is as big as a 7.5 but more subtle, and dare I say, more insidious than a sudden jolt and 30 second tremor that changes my life and the lives of those around me. What’s happened has been this steady shaking, a vibration if you will, that has destabilized the foundation of my understanding so much so that I’m doing seemingly ridiculous things like going on YouTube and pleading with people to band together in some way, any way, just enough to make me, and all who are like me, feel like they’re not alone. This hope in humanity, however, has brought forth a growing sense of instability in my trust in my fellow man. It’s odd to type that and might even be odd to read however I’ve been watching this for long enough now that as my vision sharpens my gut sinks ever deeper into confusion and a sense of dread.
In my estimation, one of two things is happening here. Either we are all losing our minds or we are being divided in such a diabolical way that we are finding ourselves turning on one another and even on ourselves. I make such a bold statement for this reason:
Growing up, I lived with, how shall I say this, folks that fancied themselves the creator of confusion and even destruction. They were gifted, not by God, with an ability to wreak havoc in slow, subtle ways that were less like the 30 second 7.5 earthquake and more like the subsequent liquefaction that destabilizes everything built upon it.
Within their minds they deviously and secretly devised ways to bring about insanity in the unsuspecting and a quiet, unnoticed division between people who otherwise would be bonded by blood or by a common goal. They secretly marveled from inside their offices and around dinner tables inside their houses in the woods and made hushed phone calls to one another about how to make their next move and to revel in their success thus far. These were, and remains so to this moment, evil people with an agenda to move themselves up while using the rest of us as stepping stones and footstools. Their entire goal was to write the rules we have come to follow and then slowly, like a macabre game of Jenga, remove random pieces from the fortress leaving those of us residing within it to question everything including each other.
So I write.
I write this plea to all who read it. I write this appeal, this tentative plan, this “wild idea” in the hopes that those of you who read this will find a way to start being a part of a healthy, cohesive reconstruction of our humanity and our basic understanding of goodness and decency and love. I write this hoping that you’ll subscribe to my Substack and to my YouTube channel and that you’ll even contact me personally and say that “you’re in” and then extend grace both to me and to yourselves and each other as we methodically work together to build something stable that we can all come to count on.
I am not so personally organized that I can present you with an entire plan in this post but what I am is hopeful. What I am is trusting that God has a plan for me in giving me the ability to do what I’ve done thus far to get me to this point.
What I am is someone who loves her fellow man
and who sees what’s happening because I’ve lived it my entire life and at 52 years old I am sick of it and wanting better for my next 30-40 years of life. Not only do I want better for myself, my husband and my son but I want better for all who I love and all who I’ve invested in with my heart and my time. I also want better for those of you reading this, who have come here from my YouTube or who have found me through Substack and have chosen to invest your time in reading my content.
This is my plea, my tentative manifesto, that is birthed from a heart weary from spiritual battle that has consumed me over my lifetime but that has brought me to a point of exhaustion whereupon I now stand ragged and worn but in bold defiance, motivated and willing to be here if you are. It is my prayer, from within the confusion enveloping the world, that God moves in the lives of you, my readers, in such a way that you decide to take a chance on your fellow man, like I am doing right now, and begin to trust a few of us to find a way to a better place.
It starts here. Right now. It’s a leap of faith but based on my experience, I know God gives wings to those who trust Him.
God bless you and Godspeed. I hope to see you around here sometime.
Love,
Elizabeth
P.S. This isn’t (and never has been) about the biggest group. It is about the group with the biggest hearts and the strongest faith and a willingness to use those two things to help each other.
I will also be a witness. Count me in.
I’m in! Love to you, Dan and Thomas.