I am so genuinely heartbroken over Israel. Add this to the list of atrocities that I never thought we would be alive to see—such horror. Such evil. Such division and lack of concern for more human lives.

Babies
Children
Elderly

I can’t watch the images anymore.

So many people think it doesn’t impact them. It’s out of their control or purview or isn’t a part of their culture or heritage.

Yes, it does.
Yes, it IS.

We are all human. We are all connected and impacted at a cellular, emotional, and spiritual level.

It’s good versus evil.

My sincere prayers for the people of Israel, and for the families still grieving in Maui and Ukraine, and countless others in various parts of the world who sustained loss, death, and destruction that might not have made mainstream news.

May God have mercy on our souls. Grant us peace, protection, and unity. May He give those who are willing the ears to hear, provide us with the truth, and the words in season needed to spread hope and show love.

May we all find a way to put our differences aside and learn to work together.

I know our day-to-day lives don’t feel like world events have anything to do with us. But they do. They always have, and now more than ever, we can see what the United States has always had and what we have treasured and sometimes taken for granted—our freedom.

Right now, you can walk down your street and not worry that a random car will pull up to try to capture or kill you or your children.

We don’t know what it’s like to have our front doors kicked in—and our loved ones grabbed and dragged out in horror.

We’ve never had to try to calm a screaming five-year-old child who witnessed a sibling get shot from two feet away.

Yes, we’ve sustained significant acts of terror that still make me cry. And those moments are bad enough.

But we’ve always found a way to carry on. It’s what we do.

However, a day might come when “carrying on” looks very different from what we see right now. It’s never been more real of a threat than now.

Make peace.

Let go.

Live with Grace.

Check-in on your neighbor.

Pray if you believe.

Be tolerant if you don’t.

Look beyond a cause, a movement, a party, a sect —and realize we are not fighting people. We are standing up for good amid evil and turmoil.