Love well, Lead with hope, and Make a Difference

I didn’t expect a single text from my husband to shake me the way it did. What followed left me in tears, angry, and overwhelmed.

Last Wednesday, I was in a meeting when my husband texted me:

“Oh no, Charlie Kirk has been assassinated.”

My honest reaction? “Charlie who? And why does this matter to me?”

But that one text opened a door I wasn’t expecting.

Over the next few days, I learned about Charlie’s work and then listened to his wife, Erika, speak just days after his death. Her words stopped me in my tracks. The courage. The strength. The faith she carried through such heartbreak. It brought me to tears.

I’ll be real: last week, my heart was heavy. Not just because of the loss of life, but because of what followed. The hateful words being thrown from both sides of the political aisle. The quick posts that take a sentence out of a greater conversation and twist it. The dismissals, “Well, others have been killed and didn’t get this much attention.”

Charlie’s assassination was different. He was a conservative activist, a Christian apologist. Whether or not you agreed with his politics, his death directly touches something much bigger: our freedom to speak and live by our beliefs.

And last week was evil. There’s no other way to say it.

We can’t keep making excuses for it. At some point, each of us has to stop and ask: What can I do to stop it?

I don’t believe the government can fix this. But I do believe that each of us—through our choices, our words, our influence...can have an impact.

Because here’s the truth: we know how the story ends. Jesus has already won. It’s this messy middle part we’re writing now, and each of us has a role in steering the story with faith, courage, and love.

In the middle of it all, God reminded me again of this verse:

“When my heart is overwhelmed, lead me to the rock that is higher than I.”

(Psalm 61:2)

I can’t control the chaos. None of us can.

But I can choose how I show up:

To steady my heart when fear rises.

To speak life when anger wants the last word.

To keep showing up with courage and faith.

There are 3.5 months left in this year. And I want to spend them living with intention...loving well, leading with hope, and making a difference, however small it may seem.

This week, I’m choosing courage. I’m choosing faith. I’m choosing to make it count.

What about you?