Approximately 10 years ago I came upon a word that changed the trajectory of my life. My soul came alive!

Namaste — may the divine in me honor the divine in you! For years I courted the concept of Namaste not knowing where to go with this. As I prayed for understanding, God kept responding with, “NOT NOW!” There is power in God’s “not now.”

Fast forward to 2022. When the student is ready, the teacher will appear. E. F. Hutton put forth a commercial that states, “When E. F. Hutton speaks, everyone listens.” When God whispers, Linda listens.

Only by solidarity with other people suffering can comfortable people be convicted. Otherwise, we are disconnected from the cross of the world of others, of Jesus, and finally of your own necessary participation in the great mystery of dying and rising.

God calls us to protect and seek justice for those who are oppressed — strangers, outsiders, or otherwise considered marginal. This is a test of our relationship to God, who made us all equal in divine dignity and love.

Since everyone is mad in the image of God, we need to recognize, honor and respect the image of God in everyone.

Namaste asks something of us. If the divinity in me recognizes the divinity in you, how could I debase, abuse, violate or harass? After all, I would be punishing myself.

God asks his children to make a difference. Considering how many times that God has said yes to us, let us say yes to him. Let us adorn the mantle of ambassadors of peace. We really can change the world if we care enough. Let us proceed with intentionality and purpose.