4/20/2021 A Day to Remember
Today, April 20, 2021, is such a meaningful day. If I said it was just a day of great excitement, I would be misleading you just a tad. From the picture, I’m sure you’re thinking this post is about to be about smoking weed and getting high, but I can assure you, it is NOT 😅. I just used it to grab your attention because well, today is THAT day.
On Resurrection Sunday (April 4, 2021), I got a text that I wasn’t expecting and definitely didn’t want to receive. My best friend texted saying, “my father just died”. Being totally caught off guard, I immediately got up and called her. Thank God we were having service outside that Sunday because I literally got up in the middle of church and called her. I had to call right then and there because of course she mistyped! Or maybe she was dreaming and accidentally sent a text as she was dreaming. Whatever it was, it was a mistake and needed to be cleared up! At least, that’s what I had really hoped for. When she answered the phone, all hope that I had of it being a mistake was completely wiped out. The anguish in her voice as she cried let me know that it was in fact true and that was a new reality. The day where we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ suddenly had a new sting to it. While she celebrates the risen savior, she’ll also be remembering how Easter of 2021 changed her life. Although the date of Easter changes each year, the memory of her father’s passing will still be engrained in her memory. It’s my prayer that the same way we celebrate Jesus, a time will come where she and the entire family are celebrating his life around that time as well, and that the sting is removed.
Today, was kinda sad at first. It was the day where the final goodbyes were said to the earthly body of my best friend’s father. As the funeral services went on, the sadness in the room lifted a bit and it felt more like a celebration of his life. The stories that were told, the pictures that were shown, they all were just a small representation of what a great man that he was to so many people, but they were a great snippet. To see the love and smiles in the room did my heart good. It made me start to think and reflect. As I sat in the service, I sat between my other best friend and my boyfriend and I couldn’t help but to feel grateful. Grateful that although life is such a short thing that we experience, it actually really is amazing and rich. We get to experience the love that God truly has for us by the people He places in our lives. I am tremendously grateful that I have the family that I was born into and also the family that I’ve been gifted along my life’s journey. We don’t get to spend forever with the people that we love, but we do get to share amazing times with them and the memories can live on forever.
When I left the burial, I felt a little tired. So I said I was going to take a nap after I ate some lunch. After I ate, instead of napping like I planned, I turned on CNN to get the latest updates on the Derek Chauvin trial. You know, the one where he was going to find out if he was found guilty for the BLATANT MURDER that he committed when he kneeled on George Floyd’s neck. I am so glad I turned the tv on! Why?! Well, because I was able to witness history being made! The jury found Derek GUILTY ON ALL THREE charges that were brought forth in the murder of George Floyd! What?! Guilty?! Do you know how rare it is for a cop to be convicted in situations like this?! But guess what!? The jury found a white cop GUILTY OF MURDERING A BLACK MAN! Wow! I was floored. But I was even more grateful! Grateful because a life was taken and it wasn’t swept under the rug this time. This time, somebody had to answer for their actions and that somebody was Derek. When I tell you that lil baby was SHOCKED, I mean it! Sis looked like, 😳🧐🤨“GUILTY?! But I’m WHITE and a COP”! But you know what, today marks the day where this response will no longer be the response when a white cop has to answer for what they did. Their faces will no longer be utterly shocked or confused when they actually receive consequences. The precedent has been set. While I’m sad about the loss of George Floyd, grateful for the conviction, I worry about Derek. I worry because we often see people like this commit suicide instead of accepting their fate. Things happening to him in prison wouldn’t be surprising either. Knowing that, I pray that he turns to God and truly learns that what he did was wrong. Although it could never bring George Floyd back, him having some type of emotion and remorse would make it a little better, to me.
While today was a sad and celebratory day, I was reminded that God is still good in the midst of our hardships. He’s God no matter what our situation is. He’s always working things out, when they seem impossible and when it seems like He’s already busy handling something else. I was reminded that God will fight for us, if we would only trust Him. He’s handling battles for us that we know about, as well as the ones we don’t know about. The weapons may form but they won’t prosper. They murdered his body but the way they tried to tarnish his name didn’t work. Instead, his name is bringing change and making history!
While I know many of you celebrate 4/20 each year because of well, you know 🚬🍃💨 lol, today, I urge you find an even greater meaning in it. I actually find it to be quite fitting that the funeral services, as well as the verdict being delivered on 4/20 was very fitting. It’s fitting because it’s a day that many African Americans (and many others) celebrate. But today, it was a day of celebrating a life well lived (in my small world) and a day of history being made (in the larger world). Don’t just let this day of history being made, remain a day in history. Find ways to love on your people more. Find ways to help reform corrupt systems. Find ways to show up for yourself and your loved ones. Find ways to do what’s right. Find ways to stand up for the voiceless. Find ways to CELEBRATE, even in sad or hard situations!
❤️MrR❤️
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