Does Marching Work Anymore?

12 Jun 07 I celebrated my birthday in a uniquely different way. I joined a march on Chicago's Southside to protest the violence perpetrated against children. The march particularly focused on the 32 children who died as a result of some sort of violence this past school year. The march was organized by St Sabina's pastor Fr. Michael Pfleger. We marched from the church to 79th and Racine where we proceed west to Halsted, south to 76th, west back to Racine where we ended in King Park. We walked behind 31 caskets (the 32nd child had just been killed the night before) made by teenagers. I walked with mixed emotions as some people in the community just stared at us while others shouted out support and thanks. I kept thinking, what could this possibly mean to the people in this community -- especially since they are just staring at us: from porches, windows, bus stops, parked cars. Then I realized that perhaps we gave them hope. Perhaps we gave them the strength to press on. As we moved through the community, we stopped everything. People who had been interrupted from whatever they were doing, trying to get home, trying to get to work, etc. were stopped by us for just a moment and something beautiful happened. People applauded and others joined us. Children stopped playing to watch us and I wondered, "What does this mean to them?" One child even came up and asked, "When did all these children die?" Does marching work anymore? I know that I was changed. My participation in the march solidified for me the fact that together we can effect change.

God Does ANSWER

We pray and we pray and we pray. We ask God for this and that. We want Him to get us out of trouble. We want a miracle. And when He does we aren't satisfied. So often we are so focused on what we want that we fail to realize that God answered. The problem? He doesn't always give us what we ask for. And since He doesn't, we say She hasn't answered. Little do we know. Really, little do we know -- God's answer is better than what we asked for. She knows what to do better than we do. Little do we know. The challenge is whether or not we're going to do what God ASKS us. The easiest thing to do? Ask God to reveal to you what you should be asking for.