I have felt the urging of the Holy Spirit to write this for over two months, I can’t shake it. Some things need to be addressed.

All lives matter — black, white, brown, red, yellow, blue fetus, elderly, Christian, non-Christian, etc. You get the picture.

They matter to God, they should matter to us. If people get huffy because they only want to talk or focus that their lives matter, it is not only selfish, but ridiculous.

Over three months ago, I went to the sheriff’s office with cupcakes from the “Church of the King,” it was on a Saturday.

The next day, a very nice police officer comes to the church with a thank you card and an envelope with my money that had slipped out of my pocket the day before. I had lost a wad of $90. I said to him, “I never thought I’d see that again, because I had no idea where I lost it.” He just smiled.

I said that to say this: We need to appreciate what we have here. I am seriously considering to say to them, “Thank you for your service.” Why not?

Most of us would not want that job for that little piece of money they get for laying their life on the line on any given day? Come on. They couldn’t pay me enough!

Ironton, we need to show them we appreciate them. I charge the churches: Do something nice for our law enforcement.

Private citizens: It’s okay to speak to the police. A good morning, have a nice day, God bless you, none of which would be out of line. A smile would be nice, a head nod, throw your chin up, a small wave (or a big wave) — let law enforcement know they are valued.

The notion that if I give the police eye contact or even acknowledge their presence close to me would result in a catalyst to probable cause and be a victim of a pat down, answering a barrage of personal questions or a body cavity search, is nonsense.

We need to appreciate what they do, as well as what they don’t do. Because life without them and life without them on our side is a female dog.

Question: Would it be too much to ask that we put a blue light on our porches to show solidarity. We already have the blue lights on the city building and the bridge! Ironton, let’s be different, let’s encourage good policemen, giving honor to whom honor is due.

Lastly, a Jewish man, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, said this pertaining to the Holocaust situation, “Silence in the face of evil is evil. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act. So when you see evil in your home, community, town or nation and we do not speak out, we are also guilty and God will not hold us guiltless.”

One man said, all you need for evil to prevail is for good men to do nothing. We need more of God, less of us. We need to use love as a weapon. We need a true revival.

Jacquette Dufore
Ironton