On my last day in Washington D.C., I wore a black shirt with white words written across it that said, “Show Up and Weep.”
Over the course of this year, the Lord’s been speaking with me about the value of just showing up, because let’s be honest: being present is hard. It’s hard to show up in pain with a broken heart and a crushed spirit. It’s hard to let people see it. We can’t guarantee their response. Will it be one of compassion marked by a drawing close and a lingering near, or will it be one that creates a wall of separation cementing the divide between what affects you and what affects me? We don’t know, nor can we control the response, but showing up matters.
After George Floyd’s death I showed up to a local prayer gathering at Travis Park in San Antonio. As I stood there, heart hurting and eyes gazing upward at the majestic clouds before me, I felt the Lord speak to my heart: “You’re not waiting on man, you’re waiting on me.” Those words brought immediate peace but many more questions. How do we wait upon the Lord? During my trip to D.C. the answer came as I read Matthew 5. “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted” (Matthew 5:4 NIV). The Hebrew word used for mourn and wait are almost identical. In The Passion Translation it reads, “What delight comes to you when you wait upon the Lord! For you will find what you long for.” There’s the connection! When we show up—when we wait upon the Lord and mourn as one—we are entwining ourselves to God and to all of his people until together we behold the reconciliation and peace we’ve longed for.
With Joy,
Gabrielle Michelle Leonard
This devotional was first published in the ONE Journal by ONE on November 11, 2020.
