Be Nasty

To My Dearest Little Girl,

As I gather my thoughts to pen this letter to you I lay restless in bed with your best four legged friend sleeping peacefully between your mother and I, and you are going about the business of growing in the dark utopia of your mother’s womb. I write to you two months before your due date because tonight the country in which you will be born and live has just elected a new president whom your mother and I did not vote for, and part of me fears for you and our country at large.

You see this man has been known to make sexist comments about women that degrade them to mere objects to be possessed by men. He has made racist statements that make immigrants fear for their lives or that they might be kicked out of this country whose very foundation is based on accepting people from other nations as a safe haven. It’s fairly clear he does not care for the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender communities through his support of very conservative Supreme Court judges, let alone the views of his running mate. He blatantly rejects people’s religion that are not his own, specifically Islam because of terrorism around the world (not that he really even claims a religion other than living out his own egoism). He makes fun of reporters with disabilities. He claims to be a victim of smear campaigns. He is also a billionaire that proclaims to be the leader of a movement to make America great again. Yet I am not sure that he even knows what it is like to live in the middle class, or to live pay check to paycheck like you mother and I do (student loans suck).

All of this hurts for your mother and I because your family has at least one person in each of the groups that he terrorizes.

I think this man was elected not because he was the most qualified or because he has the best ideas about global, economic, or domestic policies. I think he was elected out of fear. We currently live in a country that is divided on just about every issue. Many live with an attitude of “my way or the highway” while others are crying in the streets and on the prairies for justice and equality. At only 27 years old, this entire election cycle has me exhausted and craving something better for the world and for you.

In the last presidential debate, the now president elect called his opponent a “nasty woman.” This woman has served communities as a fighter for kids when she was a lawyer. She has been a senator, a first lady, and the secretary of state. Yet we live in a world where an unqualified man can still get a job before an over qualified woman. I think much of this country was afraid of this woman and the power she represents.

This is my promise to you, I will raise you to be a nasty woman. Every single day I will empower you to reach for the stars, to strive to achieve your dreams. I will never tell you that you are not good enough, smart enough, or you are not of the right sex for a vocation. You are my little girl, and you will be a courageous, brave, honest, loyal, and nasty woman.

You don’t know yet, but I am a pastor. Basically that means I care for people’s spiritual needs through the highs and lows of life while also reminding the world that God is present and active right here and now. I hope that I can live a life that shows you this, but I also hope that you will grow up with a holy imagination to discover God’s marvelous work in the world. I firmly believe that we are called to start living the Kingdom of God that Jesus talks about in the Bible where the poor, the hungry, and those who weep are blessed. A world that God turns upside down from our expectations and ideas in order to bring about healing and restoration for literally everything.

Yet it seems as if this country has cemented the idolization of fear, greed, and indifference through this election. Not that either candidate fully embodied God’s Kingdom, the winner most certainly was the least concerned with a world God dreams of for all of creation. I think we have turned from God’s peace, joy, love, and hope. Nevertheless, God’s divine arms still embrace us as we figure out where we are going as a nation.

Your mother and I will not let this country’s current state of being scare us enough to leave for Canada or Europe. I will and must stay here to lead congregations spiritually and also to live out the Kingdom of God as best I can for a country that needs to hear of God’s mercy, grace, and love more than anything. Your mother will stay because she strives to help kids learn and grow despite their own learning disabilities (she also is an unapologetic voice for kids who need an advocate).

We also stay because of you. We stay because we believe in you and all that you will be capable of. We believe that the future will not be so dark when you are born and when you discover who you are, your voice, and your passions. We believe that you will be tough, powerful, dynamic, and unafraid to call people out for their bigotry and their senselessness.

Until then, grow little one. We, and the world, wait for your coming and the gifts you will bear to us all from God. Grow, and be a nasty woman.

Forever yours,

Dad