Timshel

Since 2012 the United States has become a safe-haven for a narrow group of young people who migrated here either alone or following their older relatives. Multiple presidents, congressmen/congresswomen, and civilians have agreed for many decades that lack of proper legislation has created a system in which the Federal government seeks to remove from our neighborhoods individuals who contribute deeply to the very fabric of who we are as a people. President Reagan, President George H.W. Bush, and President Obama have all seen this failure of congress to fix the issue and have passed executive orders to defer deportation orders for limited groups of people. The present often overshadows and therefore garnishes all attention from the past, keeping us from seeing our reality in the greater context of history. Recent narrative has proclaimed that the spirit of America demands adherence to the law as the primary pillar of our Republic. Although observance of the law is vital to any successf...

Two days ago I was laying in bed, about to fall asleep, when I heard a noise. We have one of the loudest refrigerators in the world, so this happens pretty often - nothing to think twice about. But then my one year old Miniature Dachshund jumped up and started freaking out. This was more rare. Not the barking - she does that fairly often - - but when she is asleep, it takes quite a lot to get her up. So then I'm faced with the decision of whether I ignore the noise, attributing it to some "normal" house noise, or do I get up out of the comfortable bed and do a perimeter check. The obvious next stop on the mind journey is, "what happens if I find someone out there?". I'm pretty confident that most thieves would flee when confronted - but still, if my house is vandalized, things stolen, damage done - that becomes a headache of tasks to accomplish very quickly. (And yes, this whole mind-conversation is happening while still laying in bed). So after I either...

Those who follow me on social media, and/or read the things I write, could easily get the impression that the most important thing to me is helping the immigrant community. I daily read, write, comment, share, talk about the injustice that is rampant in our country and how we can (need to) fix it. While this is true and deeply touches my heart - it is important to step back and realize that this isn't the only important thing. My desire to see those displaced from their homeland treated in a just way, with love and compassion, stems from my personal faith. I don't think that you have to have this faith to see the value in a just world - and many of the people whom I've met through my activism abhor the idea of love motivated by faith - but for me, it was seeing the heart of God for the vulnerable that pricked my heart and moved me into action. All through college I had a desire to help people. I was learning how to engage people from cultures different than my own and ...