Making Herstory every day

I have been busy today, being a part of history. Just like every day! Each time we send a kind text, or a mean text, we are making history. Every time we buy a fairtrade item, or something cheap, we are part of something that shifts history. 

Now, as to what will be recorded and repeated as history, that’s a different matter. There’s a clue in the word. There are many women in the Bible who are not  named, and indeed it’s very telling who it is we are told about and why. Certainly the history I was taught in school venerated a privileged few, and I learned a white colonial version that only reflects a tiny perspective of reality.

I have been intrigued by the comments I have heard on the media from people who have flocked to London to join a very long queue in order to walk past a coffin, or watch a funeral procession. There’s been much talk of “wanting to be part of history.” And I wonder what has us so cut off from our sense of the impact each of us has on history every moment? So a decision made to buy flowers wrapped in plastic is as much a part of history making as a decision to donate to flood relief. Everything we do will ultimately become part of history for someone. 

I think there are some great questions to be asked as to why we focus on some people’s stories and not others. Why our news is dominated by certain issues and concerns and others are overlooked. What does that say about who we care about? 

My own understanding of my faith is that every creature - every human being, every sparrow - matters equally to God. To me it’s important that I reflect that in how I myself show love and concern. And so I’m going to keep asking the questions even tho I know for some it’s not comfortable.