This past Monday I got my final dose of the Moderna Vaccine and I am thrilled to be fully “#Vaxxed”. Yup, that’s a new urban slang for being fully vaccinated. It is so cute how we form words so quickly. I just hope I don’t get bored with it anytime soon. Like “Pivoting” being used so much during this pandemic. I honestly thought I’d pass out if I heard that word one more time but I haven’t yet. Almost 24 hours after my vaccine shot, I felt the anger of my body rejecting the antigens deposited in it. My goodness! I thought it was going to be an easy breezy one like the first dose but nah! I felt all the adverse/side effects and I have to tell you it was not a pretty experience. Luckily it only lasted for about 48 hours and I was back to form like nothing happened. I am still grateful and I encourage everyone to get the vaccine so we can all be safe.

During my grueling 48 hours of chills, fever, nausea, headaches and body aches (those were all the side effects I experienced), I had a chance to lay in my couch for a moment and catch up on the news. Honestly, there is something about laying in couches that doesn’t jive with my being so I don’t do it. Maybe I don’t have the right couch for relaxation but I just don’t like to lie down on a couch. I know, I’m kinda odd about certain things but that’s OK. Once you get to understand my personality a bit, you’ll be just fine hanging around me. It just happened that the very moment I turned on the TV was the breaking news everyone was waiting for – the verdict in the trial of Mr. Derek Chauvin for the death of Mr. George Floyd. I joined the world in waiting for it too and in a few minutes, the verdict was read. I didn’t have any butterflies in my stomach as most people did – a part of me knew he would be convicted, another part of me was afraid there would be a mistrial and then chaos would erupt again. I hate chaos and violence.

Truth be told that fighting, rioting and protesting is exhausting. Most people like myself look forward to a day when we can all co-exist peacefully and happily just as God designed for us to be. What struck me following the verdict was one young woman who cried bitterly. She was being interviewed and she said that “it doesn’t even feel like justice. It’s painful”. I think I understood what she meant because I felt the same way too. Justice cuts at both ends – the family of the victim will forever live with their loss and almost a $35 million dollar settlement, and the convicted man’s family will also have to live with their loss. Justice creates 2 losses, whether we like to accept it or not. The reality of this situation is that, one case has been solved and even before the trial ended, another one has erupted. This seems to be a never-ending cycle of pain after pain. It’s scary to think we might spend the rest of our days on earth, protesting and fighting for justice. It’s like an evil yoke that the adversary is hanging on our necks. That cloud of darkness covering the black community which causes other races to treat us illy has to be dealt with. What will truly feel like justice is the world never witnessing such atrocities against blacks anywhere in the world.

While JUSTICE sounds like a word of relief and fairness, it’s only used when something bad has happened to someone and the culprit has been punished. Now, that ‘bad thing’ is what we don’t want happening to anyone and we need to pray against it from ever happening again. This is just a step to right some wrongs and I pray that it will be a step to stopping wrongs from happening entirely.

I encourage you to add this to your daily prayer and intercede for minority communities around the world. That the Lord will put a mark of exemption from all forms of evil upon our lives. May the Lord bless you and keep you in all your endeavors this week.

XO,

Lady Abena.