Written by: DeAnna Erdmann
As night became day, he started to understand the truth. It wasn’t a truth he could have found in a book, but a truth that spoke into his soul. Deep within his spirit he felt heat begin to rise. It spread its warmth from his heart to his stomach. He breathed deeply, exhaling a sigh that released negativity in all its manifestations.
Goodbye mainstream songs that filled his head with the filth of “slaying hos”, praising illicit drug use, and normalizing violence. Farewell toxic masculinity that told him to abuse swear words, women, and pornography. In this moment he realized that there was no way for mainstream media or poisonous cultural stereotypes to coexist in his world any longer. This new dawn brought with it a burning passion to make the world new and beautiful and perfect. He could feel his desire to defend the weak grow, but not just the physically weak. This calling branched out to the old, the addict, the homeless, and the oppressed… he needed to help them all.
As the warmth spread to his fingertips he knew that his hands could only be used for lifting others up. This new day and every new day that he would meet from here on out would be another opportunity to use these hands to build something better for the future. He knew he could no longer use these hands in anger or to cause harm. His world could no longer be occupied by those ideas. His toes began to tingle and he thought of his feet… these feet that had carried him away from love and commitment and honesty would be the vessels that carried him to truth and light and life. He would run into burning buildings to save the innocent, he knew that about himself now.
Staring out the window in front of him, he took in the miles of houses and shops that lay before him. This community could be his parish and love would be his religion. Unity would be his message and being a constant presence would be his song. He would show the world what this feeling was by being a living testimony to the truth of this moment.
“Malik, what are you thinking?”
He turned, smiling joyfully at his wife who sat in her hospital bed cradling their new baby girl. He walked over and smoothed her messy hair, kissing her affectionally on the head.
“Everything, baby… I’m thinking about everything. I have so much work to do in myself and I didn’t even know it… I mean, I knew I loved her when she was in your belly, but seeing her…” Malik choked back tears. “Hearing her, holding her, it has changed me.”
He held his wife, who held his baby girl; she melted exhausted into his arms and together they soaked in the truth of this new dawn that they were experiencing.
“You are right Malik…. Our baby changes everything.”