I was thinking about my post for this week, and I really wasn’t sure what to say. With everything going on in our country, I feel ridiculous for prattling about some personal improvement project yet again. So I’m going to try to articulate some other thoughts.

I struggle with speaking up about political or religious things because as a teenager and young adult I was a very outspoken evangelical Christian. I was straight out of the movie Saved. I never literally threw the Bible at anyone, but I probably wanted to. (As an aside, I don’t think all evangelical or conservative Christians are like that, but I definitely was. It’s part of why that’s not my path anymore.)

Black and white thinking has always come very naturally to me, and even as maturity has allowed me to see shades of gray, my default setting is to go to extremes. I avoid speaking out because I feel like I’m not politically educated enough (although I’ve gone a long way in remedying that in the last few years) and because I’m afraid of being that religious jerk again.

But at the same time, I know some things. I know that the whole journey of faith that I have been on for the past 13 years led me to a foundational belief that everyone has a place at God’s table. I know that the inclusive, radical, actionable love of Jesus is the cornerstone of what I believe and what I try – and fail miserably – to live. I know that Jesus wouldn’t turn away immigrants or refugees – no matter what they believed in.

So what am I going to do?

That is a great question! I’m starting with putting my money where my mouth is. I gave to the ACLU and subscribed to The Washington Post. I know these are tiny steps. But it’s something. And I’m writing this post, which honestly terrifies me. And I’m going to speak up, which terrifies me more. And I’m going to do more than that, but I don’t know what yet. I can’t just sit and watch this happen without trying to make a difference. Because I believe regular people can make a difference or at the very least, we can make our voices heard.