UAE // OMAN // FAMILY

You know that feeling when you finally see the ones you love…that’s what I was feeling here. =) Reuniting with the whole family is always the sweetest thing.

We set out to catch up on things we missed and had the most lovely Christmas and celebration of Luka’s birthday.

If you didn’t know it before, you should now know, that I have the coolest brother in the world!

A couple days after “Christmas” we headed off to Oman to have a new adventure together, and we were wowed by everything we saw. The land, the people, the mosques and forts…

Wandering and exploring the wadis was probably all of our favorite activity. Climbing, swimming, adventuring…

We got to visit this gorgeous Grand Mosque

And though you can’t see it, we are standing on the second largest carpet in the world.

Wandering around this old fort was an incredible adventure too!

Even our downtime was spent taking over the world…

To the ones who taught me to adventure,

And the ones who have never let me adventure alone.

It was an incredible trip and I can’t wait for the next one!

More than a Hashtag

There’s a lot of things that make me sad.
Some get more time and attention.
Some happen so often it’s hard to keep them all straight.
Some happen once in a lifetime.

Death makes me sad.
Unnecessary death makes me sadder.
Targeted unnecessary death makes me even sadder still.

Names are powerful.
I won’t pretend to know all the names of people shot this year.
Or even all the people shot this week.
To be honest, I probably can’t even list all the names of unarmed people shot by cops this year.
But there are two names that stand out to me tonight.

One is mine.
I share a name with an officer who is being charged with manslaughter.
I share a name with the person who shot Terence Crutcher.
That makes me sad.
It reminds me I am not far removed from this pain.
I cannot pretend this problem is not mine.
I cannot pretend it is out of reach.

Another name is my baby brothers.
He has a beautiful name. And with it are beautiful dreams for his future.
But sometimes my dreams turn into nightmares and his name becomes a hashtag.
Sometimes I’m afraid he won’t get the future he is supposed to.

Sometimes I get angry that I don’t have to be afraid for myself.
What makes my brother and I different?
We have the same upbringing. The same parents. Even similar dreams.
The only difference is our skin color.
I was born white. He was born black.
But we were both born human.

I don’t know how to fix this.
But I do know that silence is not an option.
I don’t know my part is in the healing that must come.
But I will do whatever I can to not contribute to the breaking.

Will you join me?
Will you be the change?
Will you acknowledge your privilege?
Will you celebrate diversity?
Will you value our differences?
Will you ask questions?
Will you try not to be offended?
Will you open your heart?

Three men. Three races. Similar wisdom. Fighting for peace. Silence is not peace.

Dear Heroin, I Hate You.

I don’t use the word ‘hate’ very often.
I was taught to remember just how powerful it is.
But today in the midst of many emotions, I can’t find a reason not to.

Maybe you know someone using heroin.
Maybe you don’t.

…Or maybe you’re like me, and today you know one less person using, because the drug won the fight.

Today a brother is missing, a son is missing, a friend is missing, and he isn’t going to come back. His body couldn’t handle the drug, and it shut down. He overdosed. He died. We didn’t talk much, but we did recently, we talked about addiction and how hard it is to kick. He knew I was praying for him and asked me to pray for specific things. We didn’t always get along, but I have so many memories.

I don’t hate many things, but I hate heroin. I can’t find anything good about it. I have recently been exposed to so many friends who have become trapped by it. They didn’t mean to get addicted. They just thought they’d try it once. They went through detox, rehab, jail, but keep going back to it… The list goes on. It’s a hard one to kick, but I know people can overcome. I’m not angry at this friend for not winning his fight with the drug, but I sure do hope that his story can tip the scales in someone else’s fight and help them overcome before it’s too late.

The other thing that this tragedy reminds me to do is cherish each moment and each friend. To encourage people whether or not they look like they need it. Often the happy ones are the hurting ones. To tell people how I feel about them now while they are alive, and not save those words for after they are gone. Drugs suck. That’s what it comes down to. Please don’t do drugs, they just don’t fight fair.

Sometimes it feels like it would be easier to just be angry, than to try and learn from a situation, but even in the storm I will choose to praise the Lord. Paul said it well in 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves received from God.” I’m not happy for the loss of my friend, but I will thank the Lord for His comfort in this situation, and pray that I am able to better comfort others in their loss as a result. If you guys are the praying type please pray for my friend’s family and his friends who were much closer than I was to him…they are hurting, and prayers help.