3 years huh?

It's hard to imagine how much life has blown by in three years.

I have a daughter who is now three years old.  She is beautiful, and she is a handful, and there are days where the last thing I want to do is be an invested and intentional father.  But, I would not change having her in my life for anything in the world.

My wife started going back to school during these past three years.  To say that has been stressful would be an understatement.  But, to watch that look of fulfillment and joy on her face as she excitedly explains all she has been learning makes every tear, every drop of sweat or restrained comment from frustration worth it.

3 years feels like a long time, and yet, it is so short.

During this time we've watched the Black Lives Matter movement go from an almost unseen organization to a viral cry out for equality.  A movement that not only was a fight against police brutality and favoritism, but also a cry out for the continuation of what the Civil Rights movement was all about. 

I hate to call it "Civil Rights 2.0" because I know it is so much deeper than that, but the core of the message is still the same.

"Every human deserves to be treated with the same dignity and respect as a created being in this universe."

And we (the black community and those who stand with them) will not take the abuse any longer.

In these short years, we have had families fighting amongst themselves on whether kneeling during the national anthem is disrespectful "to the flag" (or rather what it represents) or not.  Even though, the heart of the protest was never about the flag.

And it even led to the dismissal of professional NFL players.

It has even led to the association that runs the NFL to attempt to silence their right to freedom of speech, because so many people get offended.  Because we keep trying to make it about the nation, those who served, and ignore what it is really about.

I realize I don't carry the popular opinion.  And, in a lot of ways this argument I'm making is the same that countless others have made before me.  But still I type these words because the issue is still very real, even if the media doesn't cover it as much.

Our president has seen to that.  And since I don't want to open that bag of worms I'll end this rambling here.

See you in another three years I suppose.

Grace and Peace