It’s time to shake things up here in the Thriving Creative Podcast Community, and it starts with me, your host. 

I have been doing a lot of learning, a lot of reflecting, and a lot of listening in the last few weeks. Perhaps more than ever before when it comes to the issue of racial inequality.  I’ve struggled to come to terms with a failure to amplify diverse voices in this community. I am sorry, and I am committed to doing much more. 

And so I share this prayer with you in hopes that you could also make it your own. 

Please God, Let it NEVER go back to normal.

I have to tell you that at the beginning of this pandemic, all I was really praying for was that things would just go back to normal. I missed so many simple things that I had taken for granted. My anxiety was sky-high because all I could see was all the things that I was missing. Here and there my heart would shift toward gratitude, but not often enough. Then I finally came to terms with the fact that life had slowed down long enough for us to pause and surrender in this season of prolonged uncertainty. This pause made me recognize I had the opportunity to step into this moment when the hurt of the black community can no longer be dismissed.  

Dear God, Let it NEVER go back to normal. 

Though we cannot make up for the hundreds of years of injustice, I realize that it is still not too late to use my privilege to fight to restore justice for black lives. My white friends, it’s time to stop and listen. It’s time to stop airing your opinion and minimizing the pain that black people endure on a daily basis. I am committing to using my voice to act on your behalf. I am committing to dismantling racism both in this current moment and in the future. 

Dear God, Let it NEVER go back to normal.