It's Me Again, Lord

Afternoon, Lord:

It's me again. Thanks for the times we talked before about these things that matter to them, to us, to me, and ultimately to you. I'm sure you never weary of hearing the cries of your children, but sometimes your children wonder when and how and where and in what ways the cries will be answered.

Just yesterday, Lord, I talked to one of your children. He's a farmer, the one who has lost land. He's also now lost his health in various ways, but he's actually hoping and praying and believing that by your power he's going to get back to farming full time again.

He's a discouraged man. His family is disheartened. He worries for his children. He's a man of deep faith but, still, Lord, he walks on the worried side of the street more often than even he would prefer.

We talked about all of those who are dying. You were there in the early days of the march on Washington, that time when the farmers walked down Pennsylvania Avenue, when they carried signs and placards, when they spoke loudly via the PA system, when they walked through the halls Congress, all in an effort to have their plight heard. Yes, you were there, Lord, and they know that you were there, and by and large, they still are grateful for your Presence.

The thing that is grieving them is that many who walked and protested in those days - just ten short, no, long years ago - many of them are no longer with us. They've died. They've met you face to face. You know them by name. You recognize their faces. You know their stories. Their faces, names, and stories matter to you. This we believe. At the end of the day, we hang our hats on the fact that you care.

These farmers know that you are utterly faithful. However, they no longer have faith in the US government and its various institutions to be fair and just with them. They are devoted citizens of our country and our communities, yet they remain waiting and wondering and agonizing as to when justice will come for them.

The young are growing older, Lord, and the older are dying before our eyes. Their hair is turning grayer day by day, their wrinkles are becoming clearer and clearer, their brows reflect the burdens they feel. They are standing more often these days beside the caskets of their loved ones who are dying before justice is realized.

These farmers know more than I know, but, frankly, Lord, the death of that man and his wife over in Georgia, and that couple in Louisiana, and that man in Texas, and that couple in North Carolina, and that farmer in Alabama, those strike close to home, too close to home. And, that's just the tip of the proverbial iceberg.

So, in the face of all of these things, I pray for you, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to bring justice upon our land and in our institutions of power, that you will move your way into the hearts of people who will make decisions that give farmers a hope to keep on hoping, and for justice that will help them repair their lives, and for those who wish, to return to farming and to doing those things that they find meaningful and purposeful.

I pray for the 2007 Farm Bill to make a difference, for legislation that will be proposed at least to put a dent in the inequity of things, that the Pigford Case will get re-opened to give some a fair shot, and for whatever other efforts are unfolding out there to make a difference in these matters.

Surely this is a righteous cause.

Thanks for listening, Lord.