The Difficult Conversations (Pt. I)

Let’s talk about difficult conversations. If you are a supervisor, manager, or lead on a job and an employee is doing something wrong consistently (like constantly being tardy or absent, or failing to perform expected tasks), is there not a call for a difficult conversation? Suppose your child is displaying some bad character habits, do you not sit down and talk to him/her so that the habit changes and to understand why the habit exists? In my life experiences, I have had difficult conversations, and while they are not comfortable, they are necessary in order to grow and learn, especially in today’s world. 

As 2020 draws near to an end, I am reflecting on the COVID-19 pandemic and the economic downturn in the United States. I find myself asking what is the takeaway from this year? What new revelation has presented itself? How have the real identities and personalities of those around you shown their true character? How has your faith been challenged, and what is the lesson that God is teaching? What have you suffered from through the year: depression, anxiety, anger, sadness, faithlessness, or a defeatist attitude? I have to remember that the person who entered 2020, in the beginning, is not the same person who will leave 2020 in the end. Many of us would like to believe that this year has not changed us, but in retrospect, it has.

I started this year as a high school administrator, and I am ending this year as a high school English teacher. I have no regrets and have not looked back to miss that life once. Being quarantined gave me pause to rest, think, reflect, and pray. It also gave me a reason to return to writing. This year has brought about health challenges for myself and for my family, and through it all, I still remembered that God is faithful. That is not to say that everything has been great because there have been trials that tested my beliefs, my patience, and my perseverance. I have dealt with elitist attitudes, undercover racism, and false Christians. And yet, God is faithful. He held me up when I was ready to quit and give up. He stepped in when I thought the situation was impossible, and He blessed me with words when there was a need for conversation and communication.

I reflect on my 2020, but I can’t and don’t do so without giving thought to the world in 2020. As a nation, we have been struck by a deadly virus (COVID-19) that has ravaged this nation and claimed the lives of 250,000 people, and those who managed to survive COVID-19 are left with side effects. We have lived behind closed doors for six months in a cocoon where socialization came to a screeching halt. You were lucky if you had family, but did the world stop to think about those who were single or elderly living alone? Education became a virtual world full of flaws and dehumanization (not for lack of trying by teachers, parents, and students). Our world became the hotbed of racial division. Not since the 1960s has this country seen the heightened protests for justice and equality, the riots caused by ignorance and lack of understanding of cultural diversity, and the ideology of the disregard for humans over increasing and sustaining the economy. We can all say that 2020 has been a year unlike any other. But God has remained faithful even when people have not taken the time to hear his voice or feel his presence.

This year we saw lines drawn by extreme left-wing liberals and ultra-conservative right-winged Christians. We saw peaceful rallies interrupted by groups seeking to destroy towns, businesses, and cities. Peaceful groups were disrupted by police and cited for trespassing and disturbing the peace, and others continued large unmasked gatherings without any deflection. The nation watched as a man was suffocated under the knee of an officer, watched as a jogger was gunned down by two neighborhood vigilantes, watched as police shot into the wrong house killing an innocent woman, and watched as police burst into an apartment looking for drugs and shooting to death the young female occupant. In the middle of racial and social unrest, the COVID-19 cases continued to rise amidst the division of those who believed that the virus was real and those who thought it was a conspiracy and a farce. The world listened to the mudslinging of candidates from local to national offices. We watched as our country became the headlines for national news, and we wondered if other nations laughed at how insane we had become. The bigger question is, what did God think when He looked upon His people and saw the dissension of His creation?

The time has come for the difficult conversations.

Copyright ©️ 2020 by CrayDawg, Inc.