Thank you for giving me space when we passed each other on the sidewalk yesterday. I am grateful for men who choose to respect women and show gallantry; Men who choose to protect and to serve. This is how you were designed, and you honor God, and you honor others when you do so with strength, wisdom, and compassion.
I may be jumping to conclusions though. Was it due to the narrow walkway? Was it a simple expediency because the sidewalk was narrow and there was no other way to pass? Was there a warning or a fearful look in my eyes which made you step off the pedestrian way or was it some conditioned response you have learned in your own walk through this life?
But here’s the thing: When you stepped off of the curb onto the road, you didn’t look over your shoulder, and you stepped right in front of a bus. That’s when you might have seen fear in my eyes which had not yet even registered in my sleep-deprived brain. I was mute. Unable to speak up. I was unable to process the danger you were in nor form words to warn you about the oncoming bus.
I thank God you realized what was happening and were able to jump to safety. I am grateful that perhaps you understood non-verbal communication in that moment better than any words I might have been able to shout to you.
Talk about divine appointment. I had spent most of the prior night scanning social media wondering why I hadn’t spoken up about recent events, given my opinion or even stepped into some of the debates. Why had I not taken the opportunity to join or witness a peaceful protest? Silence makes me complicit, right?
Then God responded with what for me was a powerful illustration of the cost of my silence in yesterday’s chance encounter.
A proverb from the Bible says, “Sin is not ended by multiplying words, but the prudent hold their tongues” (Proverbs 10:19, NIV). This is not written as a command, but there are many similar proverbs offered as the wisdom of a father to his son, in order that he might live a life of discernment, discipline, and integrity. There are also many warnings, especially in the New Testament, about wounding others with words or speaking too quickly.
Like many Christian women, I am painfully aware of these verses.
Given the complexity of recent events, the truth of the matter is I needed time to re-examine my convictions, especially in light of my faith. I have lived in New York most of my life, and I have always enjoyed its diversity. I have also had many open and sometimes painful or awkward dialogues (on both sides) with others of different races, both from the U.S. and from other countries. This does not make me an expert, but it has helped me to see the struggles, the humanity, and the beautiful uniqueness of God’s creation in its kaleidoscope of color and texture.
Man is created in the image of God (Genesis 1:26-27), and because of this, human life has intrinsic value. It is not because we are worthy, it is because God is worthy. He is a wildly creative God who set the universe in motion and created every living thing in all its glorious detail. He is also the God who humbled Himself by entering into creation as a man in the person of Jesus Christ, who still fully God, lived the perfect sinless life that we cannot and who bore our sin and shame so that we could be reconciled with the Father.
What matters most for each of us are the decisions we make in this life which will impact our eternity. Today, can you choose to put your faith in Jesus?
To the unknown man I passed on the sidewalk and others I’ve met along the way- perhaps by divine encounter – I prayed again today that you will one day come to a saving faith if you haven’t already, before the next near miss becomes a harsh reality.
Peace. Alison
Photo credit: Fahroni on istock.com.
in heartbreak and in hope 
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