Slow + Sacred: Confessions of a Type A Person Learning to Slow Down
The Week of January 20th
Monday, January 20th
Today is tough.
It’s MLK Day. The day we pause to honor the legacy of a man who gave his life for justice, equality, and freedom.
It’s also the day of Donald Trump’s second inauguration.
As a black man and someone who believes deeply in the hope of the gospel, I feel the weight of both.
MLK Day reminds me of progress, of the sacrifices made by those who came before us. It calls me to hope. To keep dreaming.
But this inauguration feels like a gut check. A reminder that we still live in a divided, broken world. It stirs feelings of frustration and disappointment.
How do I hold space for the tension between hurt and hope, progress and pain, faith and frustration?
One thing I know: I can’t rush past this moment.
So today, I’m learning to sit in the discomfort, trusting that God is at work even in times of tension.
While the words of Dr. King are ringing in my ears: “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.”
I am reminded of the words of Representative Shontel Brown, “It does not bend towards justice on its own—no, it only does so because people pull it towards justice. It is an active exercise, not a passive one.”
Her words remind me that I don’t just get to sit back and hope the arc bends. I have a responsibility—to stand in the gap, to pull with everything I have.
I must pull it toward justice in how I lead my family and church to embody the gospel by standing with the marginalized, fighting for the oppressed, and refusing to look away when injustice appears.
This work isn’t easy, but it’s sacred.
So, I’ll sit here a little longer—in the hurt and hope—praying for the strength to keep dreaming.
Sean