“She was a uniter.”
I listened this week to comments about the passing of Dolly Parton, and that quote stuck out. At my memorial, if someone says that about me, as far as I’m concerned everyone could say, “Amen,” and go home.
Across six decades, in an industry that invites conflict and controversy, this remarkable woman stayed true to herself, her marriage, her faith, and her values. She fed hungry children, provided thousands of jobs in the extremely poor area in which she grew up, and gave away more than 3,000,000 books to children.
Regardless of your thoughts about her movies or music, it’s difficult not to admire that sort of service.
But perhaps most admirable of all – she loved and accepted everyone.
She understood the power of community, the notion that what unites us is far more powerful than what divides us.
I think about this a great deal regarding The FREEDOM TOUR.
I suspect a political discussion among even our most committed supporters would reveal wide differences of opinion. But – that doesn’t matter, because we’re a community gathered around an important cause. What unites us – supporting kids rescued from human trafficking – is so much more important than anything that divides us.
I’m thinking about Monday’s quote: We must never underestimate the power of planting a seed.
I wonder how many seeds are planted – and what Jesus does with them – when we focus on unity rather than division. Mostly, we never know. The group gathers. We walk and ride our bikes and eat lunch. And everyone goes their own way. It’s easy to believe nothing happened, nobody was changed.
I suspect that’s not true. The problem, for me anyway, isn’t that I don’t get to observe and measure and report on the changes.
We just bring people together – and trust Jesus for the outcome.
Let’s be uniters.