A Time to Keep Silence, and a Time to Speak

“Though I speak, my grief is not relieved;And if I remain silent, how am I eased?" Job 16:6"I am so troubled that I cannot speak."Psalm 77:4"For there is not a word on my tongue,But behold, O Lord, You know it altogether."Psalm 139:4

Today, one week after the election, I am supposed to write to you some kind of message to bridge the gap between those who are celebrating and those who are grieving. A message that insults neither side while also condemning the evil that is seeping into our political system.I am supposed to write to you a message of hope and in the same breath give fair warning for what's ahead; a logical and even-toned piece that is also passionate and warm.In short, I am supposed to work a miracle from my gray velvet couch, with only the keys of my slowly dying laptop and the fullness of my heart.People. I am 32 years old. I am no wonder-worker.And of all the things that I am and that I pretend to be, thank God, "all-knowing" and "all-powerful" are not on those lists.Here are two people, much wiser and much calmer than I am, who speak the words I wish to speak.There is "a time to keep silence / And a time to speak" (Ecclesiastes 3:7). For me, this week, there is much still to process. My heart is silent; my conversation is between me and my Creator.Go read:

"Being Christian During a Trump Presidency" written by Aristotle Papanikolaou, a professor of theology and the co-director of the Orthodox Christian Studies Center at Fordham University. Read it.

"Our Mission Is to Serve a Higher Order" written by Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick, the archpriest of St. Paul Antiochian Orthodox Church, an avid blogger and published author. Read it.

And PRAY.P.S. A reader asked me to create a lock screen out of this verse. It has helped me greatly in reminding me of my Christian values before I post anything on social media. Download by clicking on the image to get to the full-size version.

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