Chapter 1 - A Spark of the Divine - The Crooked Places Made Straight

 

When we consider having a Spark of the Divine within each human, it boggles the imagination, doesn't it? And yet, I believe this is true. This morning when I began to wonder how to open this post, I was, of course, thinking of a song. One came to mind and almost immediately it was replaced with the one that you've now listened to. A God Incident? Yes, I think so, because this song is so old that it comes way back from my childhood days of singing in church and I don't think I've used it before... and yet once it came into my mind, I was able to sing the words of the first stanza as I got up and began my morning tasks... Over and over...

Breathe on me Breath of God... Fill me with life anew... Crossing my mind was the issue of my having a heart procedure next week, but I'd already decided that God will decide when my life here on earth will end, and I'm alright with that plan of action... Still, having God Breathe on me surely is a blessing that we would all cherish, right? Or would we? If we say yes, then we surely must go on to the next phrase... That I may live as Thou Wouldst Live... And Do What Thou Wouldst Do...

One God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all...

 That's from the pledge of allegiance that, hopefully, is still used in our schools across the land... At least I hope it is? Because it includes very important words and phrases which don't seem to be acceptable in our divided country at this time... But how did it become so divided?

Certainly I still believe in one country, under God... And, to me, that means one country with all of its citizens. Yes, All... My life has been a fairly simple one... Living in a small community in a small rural area. Attending school with those who lived in the surrounding areas... Then graduating and looking to the nearest employment available, which happened to be West Virginia University within driving distance of my home... Although I never moved from this area, on that land-grant campus I met people from all over the world. I met them as they were hired and began working, or I met them as students as they came and went to classes or events with which I was involved... Not once did I think those individuals didn't belong here in the United States...

I had memorized the first words of a symbol of liberty that another country, France, had recognized about the United States. "Give me your tired, your poor, your hungry masses yearning to be free..." And I knew that I was a member of that mass of people who had either been born here or had come from somewhere else to find the freedom that everybody yearns for...

Bible Hub

When I started reading this chapter again, I discovered that I'd already referred to some issues yesterday. I'm not quite sure, but it seemed to me that I was to spend more time on the Spark of the Divine than on the politics of all that's happening... Some of you may remember as I do what occurred in Georgia when the Black Pastor Raphael Warnock decided to and was running for the Senate. Thankfully for our country, he won... For the majority of we who live in the United States, never could have anticipated exactly what began as this term of office for the president started. Many are still disbelieving that this could have happened in America. Yet it has... 

And, sadly, religion has become a major factor in the center of it all...

Raphael Warnock, himself, could not have planned on facing the attack on the Black History--and, indeed, the attack on anything that was to be selected by one party with the aim for elimination--for destruction... Having the first major attack be on USAID as a main source of support from America to the world was immediately catastrophic as children and people began to die from not having the stability of food and medicines that were in storage but were burned instead.

Where was the words from those in the government who spouted scripture but didn't remember those that Jesus had clearly stated

World Relief

The New Senator, one of the two new Georgia representatives was excited as he began his new activities, being invited to speak on news programs and even to talk with Whoopie and others on the View! But his new life was drastically changed when, on January 6th, he watched as the attack began on the Capitol and the people there to certify the election were held captive... Warnock refers to those there as the "other sides of our complicated American Family's story which was being presented to the world... He then notes that it was being "goaded" by the president, and that it resulted in the death of nine people... More importantly, he notes that, afterward, he would hear statements like, "That's not who we are as a country..." And, as both a pastor and a new senator who had been a witness, Warnock promptly proclaimed, "but I disagree. If we’re honest, January 6 is exactly who we are, and who we have always been. Here’s the thing. Like all families, our America is complicated. Our beloved country is both the hope of January 5 and the horror of January 6. Both the miracle of democracy and the oppression that runs counter to democracy are right there in our charter documents. Our Declaration of Independence, our Constitution, and our Bill of Rights are all evidence of the enormous possibilities we represent, as well as of our brutal human flaws and failures. Both days are at the very core of who we are, and who we might yet become.

For me, and perhaps many who read this, we have not experienced the reality of the United States in toto. Our relationship with others has been within a certain area of the country and our experience does not include the type of heartbreaking episodes for those who are the least bit different from who our neighbors think we are... It is only through my reading that I have learned of the reality of those who are...not... white... Many of you may have learned of discrimination on the job, as I have, or even in our religious environment... But nothing prepared us for what is now taking place... Warnock, as well as those of his race, had been prepared. I've talked with Jewish people and they have written or shared how they've had to be prepared... But, no matter how we've lived, I don't think any of us were prepared to see the United States return to the time of the feudal period when the rich did whatever they wanted...

Know your history? You may not want to listen to the entire video above, but the first few minutes will ensure you begin to feel that what it speaks of is, more or less, exactly what is going on right now as the U.S. government attempts to work within this exact framework of identification of classes of people by income! And, even worse, to continue to fire people or place non-white people in illegal prisons where owners care nothing about their care, including babies who are dying in these facilities...

Warnock points out that the line is clear--that we allow this country to be controlled by the rich who, like recently, create wars so that they can seek power and recognition while resulting in further loss of use of OUR taxes for what is really needed by our citizens... And he is willing to point out to us that, if we are honest and do our research, that our government is working against us, pulling control further and further into the hands of those who are not only incompetent, but who do not care, as long as their pockets are enriched further!

"The very idea of diversity, equity, and inclusion" is being cruelly advertised as radical, controversial, and in some cases illegal. We the people must wake up from the illogic pretense that on one day we were fine and the next a high number of our citizens are worthy of being fired, imprisoned, sent to other countries, or denied food, health care and more that were previously approved by Congressional action. Let's face it, when Congress is being bypassed, when actions are being approved by the Supreme Court by those who are working for one party, claiming to be conservative, while knowingly accepting financial payments which are against the law, we must stop and question what is going on!

Warnock as a pastor has shared that he feels we each have a spark of the divine which is being used through a democracy that gives us a right to vote and a voice to work toward our future. I say to you, that, in my opinion, that spark has been diverted, on purpose, and is being used to manipulate many of us as we hear lies and the use of religion to speak against people who were once just members of another political party, but who are now being used to spread unspeakable statements for the sake of hoping you believe their lies...

I just stopped for a little breakfast and listened to what was being done to a man running for election in Texas... His opponent hits darkly on this man's religion, using AI to run ads so ridiculous that it's not even worth talking about it... Yet, millions are being spent by groups who are funded by rich billionaires... So why have they chosen to call democrats demons? Why have they used religion to attack their opponents? And why has an entire new group, Christian Nationalism, use violence as a main way to ensure compliance and support for their beliefs. Surely this is not the God of Truth and Love who created such a "spark" within some U.S. political activists?

Senator Warnock points out that "The rank authoritarianism that created so much repression, destruction, and devastation in the twentieth century has come raging back like a mutant strain of a deadly virus in the twenty-first. The story of that fight is being written in real time, ironically as our nation celebrates the 250th anniversary of this grand experiment. The outcome cannot be taken for granted."

And, we cannot overlook the fact that during those 250 years, much has been changed to the original document that some claim to be the only one to pay attention to... Americans had saw what was needed and worked to keep on moving forward. Warnock points out that those who pray will often also be those who use their feet to keep walking to add daily, if necessary, to what needs to occur... Right now, we have already lost much from actions implemented illegally through the executive branch as opposed to Congress. 

Civil Rights, Women's right to vote, and so much more have been added to the specifics of what rights we are to be afforded as members of a democracy. And, may, our feet keep moving forward on the day, July 5th, 2026, to ensure that we never allow a few people to manipulate the system to the degree that has been happening since the beginning of this presidential term.

Violence against those who walk to move forward in successfully winning our rights has often been quickly ignored. Or as mentioned yesterday, had been "disappeared" by illegal actions, such as was tried at the Smithsonian within the last two years...  You can be sure that this type of interference in attempting to hide truth is based upon a drive for power, rather than a walk to move freedom forward...

It was the legendary Ruth Bader Ginsberg who wrote a strong vote of dissent when actions by the Supreme Court began to move to restrain voting rights... And These Fights are Even Worse Right Now with Gerrymandering being permitted... And more, happening...

...opened the floodgates for a torrent of voter suppression measures. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg wrote in a powerful dissent that “throwing out preclearance when it has worked and is continuing to work to stop discriminatory changes is like throwing away your umbrella in a rainstorm because you are not getting wet.”

The book covers a case in Quitman, Georgia, that gives us another example of just how ridiculous--but scary--life can be... The results of a group of Black women who saw that things weren't getting done at the local level, chose to act. The end result was not only preventing what they tried, but placing these women in jail! They were facing 120 felon counts, for simply having the audacity to question what the all-white group was doing to meet the needs of their children...

Readers, when you reach the point in a supposed democracy that anybody and everybody can be charged with a crime and have it acted on by politically appointed individuals... That's when we all should know that we are in a mess of Trouble... Let's fight back with Good Trouble!

So we leave this chapter with a message from Senator Warnock when he quotes Ben Franklin, when asked about the Constitution that had just been signed. He responded:

I’m reminded of Ben Franklin’s warning about the fragility of our democracy. If you can keep it.

Can the United States recover from all the damage that has been done during the last decade? I include the full decade because of all that was accomplished by President Biden has been mostly been cancelled, or the credit of accomplishment has been usurped by today's president... Who has done so very much worse... Will we survive? Will we keep on praying but ensure our feet, and fingers, keep on working to move past what has once again been destroyed? Do we have the courage and strength to do so? I believe we do... We have seen the millions of protestors out ensuring that what they know is wrong, is declared as wrong... We have also seen young politicians that are working to speak truth across the room and work together rather than obeying the demand that only one individual can make final decisions... Especially when the entire world has seen what has happened to the United States at this politically charged time.

One final point... When more of the voting shenanigans occurred in George related to his being elected to the Senate, Raphael Warnock chose to sue through the courts and won... What does that tell us? That this administration has cut off all methods by which the average person can find support for their concerns in the United States. Most of us don't have the funds to sue through the courts. I found that out when I attempted to find support for what was happening to me on my job. My lawyer admitted that I probably couldn't afford her to be able to learn all of the history of what had happened to me and be able to represent me in a professional fashion...

In the meantime, we are watching every single action that should be routinely addressed by government action, being held up in court case after course case. Often just in order to stall any kind of progress from occurring on the people's behalf... When we lose control of our legal system, we lose control of what makes America what we once were...

Every vote matters. Voting is such a sacred, noble right. One person. One vote.

...we must not allow it to discourage us or dissuade us from the fight. That fight is sacred. So I have continued to fight, introducing the bill again in July 2025. I refuse to give up. The stakes are too high. The vote is the call-and-response of citizens gathered together in the grand cathedral of our democracy. It is a kind of prayer for the world we desire for ourselves and our children. We must continue praying with our lips and our legs, our hands and our feet, because progress is hard-fought, and in America it has always come in fits and starts. There are times when democracy’s promise of “justice for all” expands and times when it contracts. Contractions are painful, but they create the conditions for new birth. May we learn the lessons of the last few years and find the strength to dig deep and push toward a brighter and more inclusive America. In our movement is a spark of the divine. May we find it, and may it strengthen us to push and press on...

 

 

Watch for Chapter 2

Squeezing Out the Least of These

Gabby