I know that I am so late to comment on this subject but I have to admit that I was emotionally taken aback by the events that occur in South Carolina on June 17, 2015 at 9pm. I was actually having a hard time wrapping my head around the actual act of walking into a prayer group taking place anywhere let alone in the house of the Lord. Then to sit down and pray with these people of faith before opening fire on them. I would like to think that there is not that much hate in the world but since the beginning of time, enemies of one has always attacked another’s spiritual home and foundation just to knock them down. There is a deep darkness in all men and that is what this event has reminded me of.

There are times that I will attempt to leave my bubble but I know now that this is a piece of knowledge that I have to take with me.  ALWAYS! I was going to break things down within the events that took place that night but I really don’t want to push that hateful mentality image or philosophy any further. I am happy that South Carolina didn’t turn into one of the many cities within the past year, that we have witness that took to rioting and burning their own stores and homes in their community. Instead they came together in prayer. Within all the chaos, shock, tears, sorrow and I am quite sure anger. They grabbed each other’s hands and prayed, immediately after the incident occurred. In my hearts and hearts, I truly believe that is why instead of anger spewing into the streets there was remorse, sadness, forgiveness and unity with the community. A community made up of all races, ages, creed and if you were to speak to everyone there you would even find different religions.

A silent debate within that state was reopened about the Confederate flag that was still flown in the capital, despite its association to a war that was ended centuries ago (maybe a little less), associated with a conflict that I truly believe many forgot the real meaning behind it (That is an issue I plan on visiting in a future blog). Who was taken down on 6/27/15 by a very brave and now inspiration woman named Bree Newsome (#FreeBee). Something that the state party members could never come together. Even groups from other parts of the country came together to pray for healing from this awful act.

This is all well and good but I fear that after the cameras have packed up and moved on the next horrible thing. The growth and healing that has begun will be forgotten. The thoughts on how to avoid such an act from occurring again would just be an act of good intention of the past. That we will just as easily forget the action that took nine lives, brought up a debate about a silent symbol of hate for many and reintroduced us to teachings of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. I am not saying that this will be intentional. In a matter of fact I don’t believe that was the intent behind the actions of all that has taken part. They reacted exactly like the faithful would react. Funny thing about their actions, it was far better received than the past actions that were taken by other communities. Yet I must warn, we must not forget.

We must not let the media distract us with the next BIG headliner or tragedy. This is not the first time that the racial divide within this country have been forced into our faces. This is not the first time that an act of hate had occurred in a place of worship and sadly it will not be last. (*As I am sitting here editing this, there have been several acts of terrorism on black church via means of arson. This too may come up in a future blog post.)  As long as the darkness within the hearts of men are allowed to grow. Whether in silence or screamed out loud. We must not ever forget that the silent divide within this country cannot go on unaddressed.

We all have our part to play in sharing love not hate. Which in this day and age tend to be harder and harder. Trying to keep our own personal darkness in check. (That doesn’t mean ignoring it! It actually has to be addressed) Try not to feed the darkness of others. For far too long we have feed the darkness of the world. We have nurtured it. We have allowed it into our lives to a point that it has become a normal occurrence, where it almost appears to be the right thing to do. How many times does your social media feed is filled with videos of violent acts, words or at times the shear endorsement of embarrassing another human being. We need to try to demolish this darkness with light. We need to bring the light back into the world.

In my personal opinion that would be a great honor to those that have recently lost their lives (as well not so recent) due to the darkness within the hearts of men.