Day 40 - God in our future

I don't feel like I am being attacked personally, but I feel attacked when I read the news, social media, or any kind of comment forum. If the word religion is even mentioned, people spew a lot of verbal hate. And it's not just a subtle opinion, it's pretty cutthroat. The media turned Tim Tebow, a Jesus loving athlete, into a joke and a debate. I can't help but wish we lived in a different time when loving God was at least more acceptable. The media literally does not portray God, conservatism, or anything of the sort in a positive light. Or at least that is the way I feel as a 30-something-year-old woman. And I feel like it gets worse every year. Shouldn't the two sides be equally accepted?

I have so many questions on how we got here. How we got to this place where young people are laughed at if they don't believe what the media says is the right thing to believe. I have a very hard time with it, knowing the values I am trying to instill in my children are being attacked every day. Just thinking about how happy I was to have an athlete for them to look up to, and then for him to be turned into a Saturday Night Live joke is tough. And yet, this post isn't a debate about any sort of particular issue. Because lets face it, people of all religions have completely different views of what is right or wrong, even with people of their own faith. But this post is how I wish that I had some sort of control or way to shed light in a mainstream fashion of how God is good, how Christian role models are amazing, and how my values and beliefs are not jokes, but strong intentions on how I want to raise my kids. 

I am sad for the world they will grow up in. I am sad for all of the extra pressures they will face for just going to church and loving Jesus. I am sad how much they will have to fight to keep God's name on a sign or to like someone who puts religion in the center of their life. I wish they didn't grow up in a world with such harsh media, not just about religion, but about morality, beauty, and going with the popular vote. It feels like this world is on a moral decline, and I am sure it has been that way for a long time. How do I fight this?

Here is what does get me through the nervousness. Community. Maybe God is not apparent in a global sense, but when something happens at a community level...I feel him. When hundreds of thousands of comments about faith and prayers were left on little Jessie Rees's Facebook page. When I go to church and see hundreds of people from my community there, worshipping. When I see friends on Facebook not afraid to talk about God. When I see people banding together when it matters. It gives me hope that somehow maybe our generation can find a way to keep God in everyday conversations, in our personal social media, in our lives. And somehow maybe that will be the way to keep Him living for people to see. In the kindness of actions, in the solidarity through tragedy, in the realness of our own lives. And maybe the stronger we become, the more we can fight for the bigger things that have been lost. For the dignity of religion. For the strength in morality. For the importance of values. No matter what your faith is. I want my children to grow up, not feeling isolated, but feeling strong in their faith. Unafraid to talk about why God is good, in any forum.

I want to have hope in the future.