You can be full of rage and hopeful at the same time

There's an old hymn written by a grief-stricken father after the death of his children on the back of other devastating and life-altering circumstances:

When peace like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll—
Whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to know
It is well, it is well with my soul.

This hymn (written by Horatio Spafford in the 1870s) and particularly this part of it, has been a comfort to many going through tragedy and trauma.

But like anything and everything, there are two sides to how this hymn has been used and received:

one as a comfort, the other as a silencing weapon.

Because all is NOT well.

2020 has been a year of reckoning, so far. So much pain and trauma and violence and upheaval. A lot of it long overdue. If I'm tired, I cannot even begin to fathom how tired and enraged my BIPoC friends are (I am so sorry. I listening. I'm learning).

All is not well. And some use the hymn quoted above as a way of silencing the lament and the anger and the rage:

"Whatever my lot, thou has taught me to say, it is well, it is well with my soul," so stop talking about your pain and trauma and start declaring God's goodness, instead. They use this hymn, and quotes and verses that, taken out of context, echo the same sentiment, to silence and stem and mute.

No
Nope.
Hell no.

This series is about how two things can be true at once:

The world is on fire.
The world is good.

It echoes (hopefully) that two calls to action can live congruently:

burn it all down,
heal it all up.

This is close to what I think Mr Horatio Spafford meant when he wrote his hymn, that two things lived inside of him at once: suffering and hope.

And it's important to note here that one is not holier than the other, or more true, or more righteous, or more noble.

Jesus healed the sick, and rebuked systematic power structures of oppression at the same time, often in the same act.

It doesn't have to be one or the other. You don't have to choose.

You can be angry, full of rage, afraid, and hopeful and excited and loving, all at the same time.

In her book, Shalom Sista's, Osheta Moore said:

"Peace is fierce—it has to be, because violence and discord won't go down without a fight. Those who wield peace in the face of the world's violence do it fiercely. And yes, some of us are even prone to flip some tables over when we see injustice. Can you blame us? We've seen how, in the kingdom of God, people matter and how the marginalized have a special place in Jesus' heart. Plus, Jesus flipped some tables, so why can't we? A servant cannot be less than her master, right? Right."

All is (not) well.

Anthony Demillo said:

"All the mystics tell us that even though everything is a mess, all is well."

Everything is a mess.
Whatever mess you are in; you are witnessing; you feel the weight of, feel it. Honour it. Let it take up space. Let it tell you the truth about what's really going on, whether it be in the world, in your life, in your body, or all of it. Witness it. Don't turn your eyes away because it makes you uncomfortable. Don't ignore it because you don't know what to do with it. Ignorance is not bliss; it is dangerous and keeps oppression in circulation.

All is well.
You are here. You have breath in your lungs. Blood in your veins. Skin on your bones. You are loved. You have the capacity to love. Somewhere inside of you is a place well enough to know that all is not well. There is a sense in your knowing of what wellness is, and that we need to continue to travel in it and towards it. You have agency, even if it's just a little. You have your body, and it is not against you. You have your beautiful mind, however tender it may feel, it is ready to work with you and for you. And you are not alone. There are helpers all around you. You might have to look through the fog and listen through the noise, but if you search for them, you'll find them, and they will find you.

Let's flip some tables. Starting with the ones inside of us.

(This post is an excerpt from The Practice Co App series called "All Is (Not) Well", available to download for iOS and Android! It includes daily devotionals, phone wallpapers, a daily mindful prompt and more included. Start with a free trial or subscribe to get access to each new series as they come out.)

Follow and Support Prompt: Osheta Moore is an incredible woman doing amazing work. Her series on Instagram TV called "Dear White Peacemakers" is bold and helpful and a GIFT. You can find it here: @oshetamoore
Buy her book, and support her work by visiting her website: shalomsistas.com