Spring is here, and it's so nice to have this change in season, I'm comforted by some simple things. I'm comforted as I leave the window of my office open and hear the birds, squirrels, and wind. I find comfort and healing from these aspects of nature that surround me each day.
Most of us already know that animals, no matter what kind, size, or where they inhabit their living space, communicate with each other all the time. They warn each other of danger. They fight with each other, and they also love each other. Experts in this field of animal communication spend years studying any given animal that we see on a daily basis. I always enjoy seeing animals such as a moose, or deer, coyote, or porcupine when driving down a country road. Each of these animals has its own way of talking with others.
If animals need to communicate, how much more important for people to do so, especially Christians?
In 2021, approximately 2.2 million people reported Indigenous ancestry. In 2021, more than 19.3 million people reported adhering to a Christian religion. Despite how we see mainstream media take a verbal assault on Christianity, the facts speak for themselves. I've lived in Canada my whole life, and have worked for Indigenous organizations-within the secular work force and within Christian ministry spaces.
I also see how these statistics ring true in daily living. Many people have told me how much they appreciate Indigenous values and spirituality. I've also seen a sea of fellow Indigenous people believe in the gospel message, as it's found within the pages of our holy ancient scriptures.
Yet, I've also seen firsthand how my fellow Indigenous people have had Christianity forced upon them with the Residential School generation and within the Sixties Scoop generation. Now some of those people want nothing to do with Christianity.
None of us lives in a vacuum or island of belief, faith and ways of learning. We need each other, and we need to let the past speak to us today. These are ways of learning wisdom and justice. We need to be corrected when necessary. We also need to be encouraged and led towards healing. We see this in the 94 Calls to Action of the Canadian Truth and Reconciliation Commission that speak about reconciliation and healing from residential school trauma. We see this in scripture. We see this in ancient oral teachings, too.
The half brother of Jesus himself said in the letter he wrote 2000 years ago that if we ask God for wisdom, he freely gives it to us. Don't we all need wisdom? Don't we all need to make smarter choices? Don't we all need each other? To heal, love and forgive? I know I do. With a loud YES, I do!
I also remember words a famous scholar and writer, C.S. Lewis, said in his book The Problem of Pain, "Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another: 'What! You too? I thought I was the only one.'" Lewis also said in that same book that "God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks to us in our conscience, but shouts in our pains; it is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world."
We need friendship with each other, and we need to see our pain in life as lessons so we can heal-lesson to pay attention, lessons to love more deeply, and lesson to listen to each other more than we speak. Why? Because we have often fallen deaf to each other. We carry on like there is no problem here. There is no pain here. When we greet each other we ask how our day is, but if we answer truthfully it would silence this "myth of normal" as author Dr. Gabor Maté has once said.
Will you join me in trying to listen to each other more? To heal and to forgive. People are made in the image of our Creator. People and animals alike need love and companionship-even dogs get separation anxiety. What does this say about love and nurturing?
Have a great day my friends. Take care and take time to listen and to heal. For even the wind makes a sound that either comforts us or grabs our attention to find shelter.
Parry Stelter: Husband, Father, Author, Speaker, Writer, Scholar, Workshop Facilitator, Blanket Exercise Facilitator, Pastor, Chaplain, and ambassador of the Gospel. Visit his website at http://www.wordofhopeministries.ca
