I love candles. That
has very little to do with today’s post, except that it’s why I was in the mall
on Sunday when I hate going to the mall, especially
on a Sunday.
But my tea lights had reached critical mass and this is the
time of year I burn, burn, burn. I buy
those little guys in bulk and dirt cheap at the Christmas Tree Shop, where I
thought I’d go in and out…but it never turns out that way.
I wanted to get my son’s darling girlfriend a little
birthday gift, so I headed toward one of those big department stores that give
me agita with a little something in mind for her. And on
the way I passed a smaller store for the younger set called PCX Clothing, short
for Pocket Change Exchange. Glancing at
the display windows I was stopped short by a black shirt with big gold letters
shouting out the following:
You Can’t Sit With Us
At first I think I was too shocked to process the thing. Then, right on queue, my cowardly self reminded
me how badly I wanted to blow this popsicle stand, and how it was Sunday and
lovely outside and I still had to get a present for Nicoleen. But that shirt infuriated me.
I got about 20 yards down the concourse and decided I didn’t
want to be a hypocrite here on day 6 of 31 Days of Courage. So I turned my I-can’t-stand-confrontation
self around and walked to the cashier’s counter. Two young girls asked if they could help me
and I asked for the store’s phone number and the main address of the
company. Then I asked them if they’d
like to know why.
When I explained the reason, they listened attentively. In fact one of the girls mentioned that a
young man had come in 20 minutes earlier with his girlfriend and suggested she
buy the shirt. Apparently the young
woman said to her boyfriend “that’s kind of like bullying.” Bingo.
Companies have a right to produce whatever they want. This is America after all. But we have a responsibility to voice the truth
in a respectful manner. We have a choice
to let it go. Or not.
That shirt was mean spirited. Not funny. Not clever. Down right nasty.
I’m sure there would be someone who would read this and tell
me to lighten up. That person likely
never sat alone at a lunch table, or gladly wearied themselves in the discipling process to teach their children
that it’s not ok to make people feel they don’t belong. Can you tell this particular issue strikes a
chord in me?
I don’t like being thought of as a killjoy, a legalist or
any other manner of prohibitionist. But
there comes a point when what people think of us and what’s right are going to
collide. In the middle of that
collision, courage is ignited.
So before I sat down and wrote this post, I emailed
PCX. And today (Monday) when the manager
is in, I’m calling the store to voice my opinion. I’m pretty sure they won’t like hearing from
me. But not as much as I don’t want to
make the phone call. Regardless, I must.
Because as I said from day one, it’s going to be harder to live
this thing out that to write about it. What’s the point of all this if I don’t change? Being a blowhard is not my goal.
“ He
hath shown thee, O man, what is good: and what doth the Lord require of thee
but to do justly and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?” Micah 6:8
Listen, you and I
aren’t William Wilberforce, laboring in Parliament for a lifetime to stop the
slave trade in Great Britain. We can’t
tackle every cause, even every one we care about. But isn’t there that moment, when a fire lights
in your belly, and you simply know it’s time to be a tiny bit brave and speak
light to the darkness? Maybe we won’t
have a bonfire in our gut like Winston Churchill did in England to stand
against evil, no matter the cost. But
can we start with a little flame in our sphere of influence and do the next right
thing?
Yeah, maybe this
post was about candles after all.
Be brave my
friends, in the small.
Your friend on
the pilgrim road,
Loriann
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