Circumstantially speaking

After some much needed R&R, I am back from my BLOGcation and have enjoyed every minute of my summer vacation. With roughly two and a half weeks left of no daily structure, camping out at coffee houses, catching up with friends and colleagues, and dodging the heat, I am very well rested and rejuvenated after a very exhausting end of school year. But thanks be to God, who causes us to triumph in all things!


Contrary to popular belief, I have been very busy and active this summer with Vacation Bible School, Vestry, launching a Chapter of the Union of Black Episcopalians, and outreach at The Shepherd’s Table soup kitchen, which proved to be a very humbling experience. Recently in my Twitter news feed, I noticed a Tweet from Rev. Jamal Harrison Bryant, Senior Pastor of Empowerment Temple AME Church in Baltimore. The tweet said, “I am no better than anyone else, I just made better choices.” That was a very humbling tweet for me and yet very powerful. As I ruminated over this tweet, I was reminded that I am not better than anyone else. However, I thought about my life a little more closely and thought about some of the decisions I made. Let’s just say that God is rich in mercy and compassion. I can honestly say that my choices are or were not better than anyone else who may be down on their luck in their journey.

I realize more than ever that it was God’s divine providence that kept me from being consumed and further entrapped by the enemy’s snares. I often think about the poem “Footprints.” I can see the times in my life when the trail of two prints reduced to one and I had to be carried through my trial by the Master. I thank God for this revelation. I am not better than anyone else. I have not always made better choices. However, I am a victim of better circumstances. I piggyback off of Pastor Bryant and say to you that: You are not better than anyone else, you just made better choices. You are a victim of better circumstances. Brothers and sisters, it did not have to be this way. My soul just looks back and wonder, how I got over. Take the love of God with you, proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ wherever you are and be empowered by the Holy Spirit. Thanks be to God.

Peace,

Karsten