On Finding Our Way Home
Last week, a news site reported that the George H.W. Bush aircraft carrier was spotted traversing the Strait of Gibraltar, headed into the Atlantic. Never one to be concerned about the movement of U.S. Naval Forces, the picture of the carrier accompanying the story made me cry. My son was somewhere on that big ship, and after more than seven months, he seems to finally be headed toward home.
We haven’t been able to talk often to Benjamin during his deployment, only a phone call when his ship is in port, or the occasional text message. Though his time overseas has been hard for us, I can only imagine it’s been incomprehensibly harder for him, working long days in a ship galley, sleeping in berths which can’t be that comfortable. I know he’s missed home, but even more, he’s missed his fiancé, whom he’s marrying in little over a month.
In my new book, Finding our Way Forward, I write about being a pacifist with a son in the Navy, how that dynamic has challenged and transformed me. Spoiler alert: I’m still a pacifist, but have far more empathy for those in the military and for their families because of Ben. And when I think about my son coming back to the US after 240 days, I am also acutely aware of mothers in Ukraine and Russia and other war-torn places, whose children won’t be coming home, felled by unnecessary war. My prayers each day turn to them, and to what they’ve lost. My faith compels me to always hope that someday violence won’t be endemic.
Violence continues unabated in the United States, too, but once again, Gen Z is giving me hope that someday soon our U.S. gun laws will be more sensible. The protests in Nashville, Tennessee, after the shooting at a Christian school there suggest that our young people are done with active shooters, taking their friends’ lives; with living in fear while attending school, the mall, a movie theater; and with leaders whose only remedy is “thoughts and prayers.” I’m inspired by their passion, and their willingness to speak truth to power.
Young people have also been protesting attempts to ban books in their schools. Recently, in a district near Newberg, high school students walked out of classes in protest after two parents complained about 36 books in the school library. Similar protests are happening in schools across the country, as this Washington Post article explained last spring.
Their belief in the power of reading to change lives also gives me hope.
Last week, I met with a local librarian and we dreamed together of a banned book club, which we will hopefully convene in the fall. I appreciate those of you who expressed interest in joining. More information will be coming soon, and in the meantime, I highly recommend reading Kelly Yang’s Finally Seen, a middle grade book that expresses the significance of representation and the importance of reading. Honestly, every school board member should be required to read Finally Seen, as it narrates the significance of assuring that children have access to books of all kinds. A school librarian is a hero in the book, and I agree that right now, most librarians are heroes.
Where I’ve been writing and speaking: As we wind down the semester, I haven’t been able to spend as much time on promotion for Finding our Way Forward. My interview with the extraordinary Brenda Yoder of Midlife Moms Podcast will come out next month. On April 27, I will be participating in a webinar with Amy Gingrich, publisher at Herald Press, as my book is being featured in Menno Media’s CommonRead program. In two weeks, I will be sharing in several different book groups, something I love doing: being up close with readers of my work.
In two weeks, the school year will be over, and I will be saying good-bye to another cohort of extraordinary students. I’ll meet their families in the quad post-graduation ceremony, and then will head home to a summer full of activity, including Ben’s wedding on June 5. It will be the first time I’ve hugged him in almost eight months, and I can’t wait.