Life has been super hectic for the past couple of 39 years, so please forgive me when I get behind on blogs. Please know that I am actively focused on kindness and when I am not… I find that I am either the recipient of kindness, or regularly surprised with opportunities despite my lack of intent. God is so gracious with how he sometimes drags me out of my selfishness by the scruff of my (weirdly long) neck.
For Day 7 - I signed up for a Meal Train, to bring dinner to a sweet family. I made corn chowder, topped with crispy pancetta and chives with garlic tuscan bread on the side. The soup tastes like corn on the cob so kids usually like it, but it looks pretty so mom felt treated… the chocolate I sent just for her should also help with that.
In case there is even one moment where you might be thinking, “But you have five kids and a job, how DO you do it all!?” The answer is, “POORLY AND LIKE A TOTAL SPAZ.” I enter into evidence, Exhibit A)
And a total metaphor of my personal life, Exhibit B)
Don’t worry, this batch of soup tainted by my pepper shaker was given to my family. 🤦🏻♀️ For Day 8 - A local group I am part of called E.R.A.S.E. (Eliminating Racism and Seeking Equity) had a meeting last night to go over new appointments to our task forces. The original location fell through, so they needed a meeting space. I was able to get permission to host the group at the church where I work. I recently transition to a new role at Northride Church, I am now the Community Engagement Director for our Rochester Campus, and fittingly was last night appointed to the Community Engagement Task Force for E.R.A.S.E. I am in my glory, and I didn’t even think about securing the meeting space as an act of kindness until I received this thank you card from the group:
The card was to me and my Northridge Family for openting the space. The real MVP of this card should be Graham Spruill, who helped me get the building opened and ready, and who taught me how to use the lights, mics and how to look like a DJ when I adjusted the volume on the jams.
The icebreaker at the meeting last night was to answer one of two questions - What was always your dream job? Or What is a fun fact about you?
I didn’t answer then, but what I wanted to say was… a fun fact about me is that I HAVE my dream job. All I ever wanted to be was a public speaker and I get to do that as a job. That blows my mind. But in a Covid world, my speaking event calendar has been wiped clean. Antiracist education, diversity trainings, adoption dialogues, Christian retreats, college events, conferences, corporate events… all done for now, or have moved online. I really miss everything about those in-person events. The travel, the people, the challenge that each event/new topic brings. In such starkly different environments, I get to meet people where they are at and share truths that stretch and challenge them. Being a writer, podcaster and now Community Engagement Director… those are all an overflow of passions. The intersection of my faith and my passion for racial/social/biblical justice is a sweet spot that I am so thankful for while I am unable to speak at events due to these weird Covid times. Last night was a cool moment for me personally, to receive this card and to be reminded that kindness is embedded into my work in a way that is so natural that I didn’t really recognize it.
Day 9 is kinda silly, but I sent a message to a musician we discovered from a song that was on a commercial for Taltz, which is a psoriasis medication. I can’t speak for Taltz, although the list of side effects seems outrageous… but the song is dope. My little London, who is ten years old, has become a huge fan of this band. I keep thinking about the comedians, artists, speakers and performers that cannot tour right now due to Covid. We often assume that these are famous people who make a lot of money… and sometimes that’s true. But sometimes, they take any gig they can, no matter how small or underpaid, just because they love doing what they do. My first year of speaking events… I was either paid nothing at all or was paid with $15 Starbucks gift cards. To this day I do free events for small groups like MOPS, youth groups, group homes or public school classrooms. I do this because I love it. Most performers do what they do because they also love it, and not being able to tour damages their livelihood and life can feel a bit directionless for them. So I sent a note of encouragement to Novo Amor (or “Novo Armor” as London calls them - *insert ugly cry emoji*) to let them know that even if their UK tours stop… their music can still be heard drifting from bedroom of a little girl in America who is a tiny, adorable little super fan… even though she doesn’t even have psoriasis.