The Peach-Colored Seatbelt
Ruth Andrews-Vreeland of Albuquerque, NM, USA
The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad,
the desert shall rejoice and blossom;
like the crocus it shall blossom abundantly,
and rejoice with joy and singing.
The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it,
the majesty of Carmel and Sharon.
They shall see the glory of the Lord,
the majesty of our God. And the ransomed of the Lord shall return,
and come to Zion with singing;
everlasting joy shall be upon their heads;
they shall obtain joy and gladness,
and sorrow and sighing shall flee away. -Isaiah 35:1-2, 10
We bought an extremely nice, gently used minivan with lots of “extra trim” in 1988 when our kids were all very young. We enjoyed taking it all over the country on trips. As kids often do, our three had to find something to squabble over during our family excursions, and their “weapon of choice” was who had to sit in the seat with the peach-colored seatbelt! All the other seatbelts were tan, just like the van’s interior. Lots of tears were shed by the child who lagged getting into the van, as they ended up getting last choice of where to sit. Oh, the horrors of having to end up with the peach seatbelt!
Mark and I never understood why our kids made such a fuss over it. But the answer was that they were kids, very young, immature, and a bit self-absorbed, with that characteristic “me-first” attitude, like so many children. Eventually, it became the funny story about their childhood that still makes all of us laugh uncontrollably. It was absolutely ridiculous!
The current, tragic situation in the United States reminds me a bit of our old peach-colored seatbelt. People who believe that the color of anything-for instance, someone’s skin-makes another person superior or inferior, are immature and self-absorbed with that characteristic me-first attitude. I wish everyone could just grow, get over themselves, and laugh at how silly their childish thoughts on that subject used to be.
As an artist, color is one of my favorite words in the English language. I love all colors equally (OK, so maybe purple is at the top of the list!) but the variety of shades of skin color is so endless, so amazing, and all of them are so beautiful! God outdid Himself creating this planet with such diversity, and people are going to squabble like small children over which skin color is best. Really? Is a color worth all the hate, all the violence, all the mayhem, and the taking of lives? Grow up, world! Learn to recognize and see the worth of all human beings! We are all God’s creations…God’s children…God’s coloring book!
Prayer Phrase
Help us see beyond our dark places and find our way closer to your loving light.
Spiritual Practice
Healing for Broken Spirits
Begin with quiet prayer. Ask God to help you detect some “sore places” in the body of Christ and God’s creation. Become aware of people who feel separated, wounded, or left out. Reflect on or write a short journal entry of healing words to at least one person who comes to mind. Ask God for words that will touch this person’s broken spirit like healing ointment. Keep this person in your heart and prayers today and act on any ideas that come to bring blessing and wholeness.
Today’s Prayer for Peace
Engage in a daily practice of praying for peace in our world. Click here to read today’s prayer and be part of this practice of peace.
