Looking Back: Year End Statistics

The end of the year - here we are already. We've compiled and counted and reviewed the year that was. 

We do not place an abundance of importance on statistics. If statistics are the forest, we are always aware of each individual tree. As a team, we are too involved in relationships to worry a lot about the numbers.  

Working with the women we quickly learn that one healthy pregnancy carried to term, one victorious labor and delivery, one healthy single baby born to one mother that overcame immeasurable obstacles is what truly matters. The young woman courageously delivering her healthy baby far outweighs the preponderance of any statistic.

At the Maternity Center each woman is known by name. Statistics never know a name. Without a doubt a community has developed.  It is safe to say that staff, midwives, and pregnant women alike all look forward to program days.

Having said that - we recognize that those that give to keep this program operating and pray continually for these women and for the staff might like to see how the numbers look.

In June, a few mid-year stats were posted HERE.

YEAR END STATS:

• 88 women ended their time in the prenatal program in the calendar year 2012

• 6 of the 88 withdrew early from the prenatal program due to various reasons (risked out early, quit, or moved away)

• 82 of the 88 stayed until delivery/end of pregnancy

• 90% of the 82 continued on in the 6 month early childhood development program after they delivered

• 84 babies born in total (two sets of twins: 82 moms delivered 84 babies)

• 77 babies lived - 7 babies died 

• 3 babies died (IUFD) and were born deceased (one delivered by us - two delivered elsewhere)

• 4 babies died after birth due to prematurity (none delivered with us - all transfered to local hospital)

• 16 of 82 women were transported to other hospitals due to complications or perceived risk 

• 10 of those 16 ended up having a cesarean section - (a very low cesarean rate when considering the  health challenges this population faces)

• 82 moms lived - 0% maternal death - This is a statistic we are thrilled to share

The  troubles:

• Our biggest enemy is pre-eclampsia - number one transport reason
• Number two transport reason was premature labor

Breaking it down:

• 44 boys
• 33 girls
• 50% of the women were having their first baby
• The oldest mother that delivered this year was 45
• The youngest mother that delivered this year was 15

Fun & random stats:

• First baby of the year born 1/1 ~ last baby of the year born 12/29
• March was the month for girls
• November was the month for boys
• 12 babies were born in one month on two occasions in January and in September
• June was the slowest month, only 2 babies born
• Three babies born in just over a 12 hour period was a new record set in November
• Three babies were born on the same calendar date twice in the year 2012 - all six of those babies were boys. 
• We estimate that more than 35 friends of Heartline Ministries have donated blood to MSF (Médecins Sans Frontières) for high-risk deliveries. We know that this blood has saved lives in 2012. To learn about giving blood when you visit Haiti - read this post with options and guidelines written by Dr. Jen Halverson
• There was one VBAC in 2012
• Heartline delivered one expat baby in 2012
• 1,500+ Depo Provera birth control shots given - this program is growing rapidly - we're currently averaging 35 injections every Friday
• 52 Friday Bible Study/Devotions Presented
• 52  Friday Birth-Control Education Classes Presented
• 52 Thursday Prenatal Classes
• 51 Tuesday Early Childhood Development Classes
• The women eat a meal each day they come for class - Upwards of 4,000 nutritious meals were served in 2012

More Still:

• After every consultation the midwife that has seen the woman takes a moment to pray with her before she leaves for the day

• Every mother that delivers is seen for a postpartum visit at 1 week, 3 weeks, and 6 weeks postpartum - approximately 249 post partum visits completed

• Every new baby is given a gift bag with basic supplies and clothing, these gifts are possible due to your generous donations

• Sick babies are seen for the first six months of their lives. An estimated 400 individual visits to see/treat for minor and major illness took place - Once women graduate from early childhood development class they are asked and advised to use a local Pediatrician

• Most women are driven home after post partum care - we did not keep stats on this but we estimate that 65 women received transportation to their home after their babies were born.  To read more about the blessing of that experience, see this post

• One life-threatening and intense transport was done due to a post partum hemorrhage, that was the most memorable day of 2012 for all involved

•  By U.S. standards all but a few of the women served would have been labeled "high risk". We do risk some women out. Our numbers reflect the fact that we cannot typically accept women that have had previous C/S or very extreme blood pressure issues

• Hundreds of you let us know you were praying for a specific woman as she was pregnant and during labor and delivery - that mattered

• MANY thanks to every visiting midwife and nurse midwife - but especially those that stayed for a few weeks to cover while the full-time staff traveled.  Cookie Ireland, Shelly Downing, Betsy Robinett, Jennifer Germain, Sarah Obermeyer - we are so grateful for your help and wisdom and gifts and training

• Thanks to Sarah Dornbos and Jen Halverson for keeping us organized and stocked with supplies

• We are so grateful ... Especially to each and every person that supports the Heartline Maternity Center with your financial gifts and your prayers - God shows up and does God-sized things every week, it is an honor to be a small part of His work

A picture is worth 1000 statistics:

These numbers are being published ten days early, we may still have a baby or two before the calendar turns over to 2013.  Please share the work happening at Heartline in Port au Prince with your friends, neighbors, pastors, and small groups. To pray for women in the program by name - GO HERE. Donation Options

$25/month : $25.00 USD - monthly $50/month : $50.00 USD - monthly $75/month : $75.00 USD - monthly $100/month : $100.00 USD - monthly $150/month : $150.00 USD - monthly $200/month : $200.00 USD - monthly

Questions about our programs or statistics can be directed to Beth McHoul, Tara Livesay, or left in the comments section of this blog.

That's the year in a nutshell. We've been protected, provided for, surprised, challenged, and blessed!

Grateful for your support,

Beth, Agathe, Winifred, Cherline & Tara
Heartline Maternity Center

Quoting

If the incarnation teaches us anything, it’s that God can be found everywhere: in a cattle trough, on a throne, among the poor, with the sick, on a donkey, in a fishing boat, with the junkie, with the prostitute, with the hypocrite, with the forgotten, in places of power, in places of oppression, in poverty, in wealth, where God’s name is known, where it is unknown, with our friends, with our enemies, in our convictions, in our doubts, in life, in death, at the table, on the cross, and in every kindergarten classroom from Sandy Hook to Shanghai. -Rachel Held Evans 

O holy Child of Bethlehem,
Descend to us, we pray;
Cast out our sin and enter in,
Be born in us today. We hear the Christmas angels
The great glad tidings tell:
Oh, come to us, abide with us,
Our Lord Emmanuel!

South Padre Island, TX ~ Give this Christmas Away

Heartline Ministries is in the process of raising funds to expand the Prenatal/Maternity Care program.

The Runforlifehaiti.org event that we've previously shared with you about (see video below) is set to begin in three weeks. That event's purpose is to bring attention and awareness to the dire maternal-health situation in Haiti and to raise funds for Heartline to be able to continue addressing this need at a larger capacity.  We are grateful to be working with pregnant and new mothers in our area and are anxious to be able to increase the numbers in the future. 

Last night $6,600 was raised by friends in South Padre Island, TX. They put on a "co-event" with the intention of giving the proceeds from their event to Heartline's Maternity Center fund.  Their Christmas concert was a huge success and the money they raised will be used toward Heartline's expansion. We're grateful!

This from the organizer of the event:

"Our theme song was 'Give this Christmas Away'. If there's love in your heart, don't let it stay there. Give this Christmas away and you will be grateful you did. It is a way to say to those with much less, "You're not forgotten.."  It's doing what love does even when no one is watching you.  For God so loved the world that he Gave us all His Son , so we could be His hands, His feet... His LOVE!"

Please consider joining these creative Texans by putting on your own "co-event" of any sort. Many people are running races in the coming months, but running is just one way you can help raise funds and awareness.

On behalf of all of us at Heartline Ministries, we are grateful for your generosity and love.

~     ~     ~     ~

If you're new to Heartline Ministries and the work happening in Haiti, from a post earlier this year:

Prior to my own scare delivering Noah in 2004 I can honestly say I never once considered that all over the world women die giving birth due to a lack of very simple things, a lack of healthcare workers and midwives.  I did not consider that not so far away is a tiny little country that boasts the highest maternal mortality rate in the western hemisphere.

I'm tempted to share dozens of other mind-boggling statistics. It really is pretty crazy to see how dangerous womanhood and childbirth is in some of the world's poorest countries.  Sharing them would be my way of trying to convince you it is dire, trying to make it important to you, but I'm not going to do that.

Statistics are numbers meant to prove a point.  For me, the bigger point is this: Behind those statistics are real.live.breathing.feeling.struggling human beings. They are just like you. They are just like me. They are mothers that love their family. They want a stable life. They want to feel healthy. They want to live.

The fact is, I'd rather tell you the miraculous story of one tenacious woman and how her life was spared. I'd rather tell you about the hundreds of courageous mothers and babies that are thriving. I'd rather tell you about the ways God is showing up and providing for these women. 

in our dark street shines

 Trouble comes like wrecking ball~to your peace of mind~ and all that worry you can't leave behind ~Peace peace~it's hard to find~doubt comes like a tiny voice that's~so unkind~and all your fears they conspire~to unwind you. But in your dark street shines, an Everlasting Light ... All your hopes and fears are met in Him tonight

(Practicing for Christmas Eve service. Song by Sara Groves. 

All lyrics posted at YouTube link of video.)

So terribly sad to read the news.Indescribable grief and no words that could even begin to touch the depth of that sort of pain and loss ... Heavy hearts and prayers for the mommies and daddies in Connecticut this Christmas. 

inspiration, live generously ...

New Film Premiere - I Like Adoption. from ILikeGiving.com on Vimeo.

When all of a sudden ~I am unaware of these afflications eclipsed by glory ~
And I realize just how beautiful you are ~And how great you affections are for me ~
I don't have time to maintain these regrets  ~ When I think about the way He loves us

question & answer on prenatal day

Hi Tara, 

Can you explain a little more why you do not deliver walk-ins. I'm asking in order to once again learn. My instinct, as someone who has no idea what it takes to do the work you are doing, would be to take her in. You have such a hard job and I continue to pray for you, your family and those you serve. Thank you for doing what you are doing.

Love,

J.

T & T Livesay said...

HI J-
Thanks for asking!
Sure, I can explain ... There are a lot of reasons, and because saying "no" to walk-ins is hard and quite uncomfortable I hope I don't sound defensive when I explain some of the reasons.

The core of our program is education and relationship building. The women come every week for class. During the education time and the weekly meals - relationship is built. If they miss three times over the course of the pregnancy they lose their spot in the program. (The wait list is long and the spots are hard to get.) Without an attendance policy like that people would miss a lot and we wouldn't be able to provide the same program and quality care because they'd miss out on too much of the important education piece (and their vitamins and iron) just coming to class here and there. If we started to take walk-ins there would be no incentive to those that take the time to faithfully come every Thursday for class and prenatal care.

Even when we choose to drive a woman that shows up as a walk-in to the hospital we are setting ourselves up to become a ambulance service. Word of mouth is a powerful way of communication in Haiti. One woman tells a few women and all of a sudden there are walk-ins coming because word of mouth says that there is a service that can provide rides to a hospital. Delivering a walk-in would also be news that would spread like wild fire and we'd very quickly have babies being born day and night.

We're small (Beth, Tara, Wini are the only three here full time all the time and then Melissa is here about 75%+ of the time.) Besides labor and deliveries we have three days of classes we do at the Maternity Center. If we did walk-ins we couldn't do those classes and we'd never sleep or see our families. (We will grow our staff as our program grows but we're not to that place yet, still raising funds at this point.)

There are government hospitals and other non-government hospitals (that I admit are sometimes terrible) doing walk-in deliveries. They provide that option. It is not loving, warm, or respectful care  - but in truth it would be hard for us to provide that kind of care with a high volume of women too -- our model works because we know the forty-five women so well and we've had time to build two-way trust. When they walk in with contractions at week 38+ we know their names, their story, their fears, risks, etc.

With seeing the women every week we are more certain of their health, their prenatal care is better, we can be more aware of the risks in each individual pregnancy. When we enter into labor and delivery time we understand a lot more about what the possible risks are. (Reducing our liability and reducing our likelihood of losing a mom and/or a baby). If we delivered walk-ins we would lose all of that.

Liability (if someone dies - which has not happened to us in three years but honestly - statistically - it will happen) is somewhat of a concern. When you know someone (and vice versa) for 7+ months before delivery and know about their health risks it cuts Heartline's liability down quite a bit.

Thanks so much for your prayers -- we think our statistics are good for exactly that reason and we covet your continued prayers. 

With love and gratitude,
tara & the whole Heartline team

*Please feel free to ask questions, we'll answer and post the answers as time allows.

The Spirit

‎"The spirit of Christmas needs to be superseded by the Spirit of Christ. The spirit of Christmas is annual; the Spirit of Christ is eternal. The spirit of Christmas is sentimental; the Spirit of Christ is supernatural. The spirit of Christmas is a human product; the Spirit of Christ is a divine person. That makes all the difference in the world." 

~Stuart Briscoe

O Holy Night

Every direction you turn, images of Christmas are evident.

You need not look far to find beautiful and thoughtful displays, tastefully decorated homes with glowing trees, and rows and rows of symmetrical twinkling lights. Step into one of these homes and the warm fire will greet you as you breathe in fresh scents of pine and cinnamon. It is beautiful and clean and so.very.pristine.

Looking upon these exquisite arrangements one senses order and peace.

O Holy Night

In contrast I'm reflecting on the untidy disorder and chaos in the lives of so many celebrating Christmas around the world this year.

They experience vastly different surroundings and a much more simplified version of the annual celebration of the Christ child. It looks nothing like the photos in the magazines and has not even the tiniest hint of Martha Stewart. There are no smells of fresh baked cookies or apple cider to entice them. They don't string lights around a tree, pile colorfully wrapped gifts high, or build gingerbread houses; yet meek and mild - they celebrate.

Long lay the world in sin and error pining,'Til He appear'd and the soul felt its worth

How did our celebration of this day become so clean and crisp? Where are the smells and  sweat and tears that were most certainly a part of Mary and Joseph's journey? 

It begs the question:  Do 'Better Homes and Gardens' scenes with sparkling lights and gorgeous decorations reflect the Christmas story best? Are the experiences of a frightened and ashamed teenage mother-to-be anything like that?

Do the marginalized and suffering in our world experience Christmas more like Mary and Joseph did - or do we?

A thrill of hope - the weary world rejoices

I'm reflecting on these two extremes.  I love the exquisitely ordered and the beautifully arranged. I close my eyes and picture that sort of beauty in our Heavenly home.

While yonder breaks a new and glorious morn

I long for a day when disparity and injustice ends. I dream of a Christmas were no child is enslaved, abused, and sold. I pray for the glorious morn, where the oppressed are free. I long to wake up to learn that no child is suffering or slowly starving to death. I dream of a day when people from every continent and every nation celebrate Jesus and His birth surrounded by love, joy, dancing, singing and immeasurable peace and beauty and justice. 

Truly He taught us to love one another; His law is love and His gospel is peace

Truthfully I also find great inspiration in the simple, dingy, gritty, humble celebrations of those who struggle and toil without access to our unstained images of Christmas. I long for their stripped down total dependence on God. I pray for spiritual wealth like that of the materially poor. I want their depth. I want their undying hope. I want a Christmas less like Oprah's and more like theirs.

Chains shall He break for the slave is our brother; And in His name all oppression shall cease

Our youngest daughter Lydia has been struggling with choices. When offered a choice of two things she'll often reply, "I want two ones."  When she says that, she means I want them both.  

As I soak in Christmas this year I find myself wanting two ones.  I want the perfect looking, delicious smelling, pain free and unpolluted Christmas and I want the dirty, stinky, humble, difficult, but miraculous Christmas that Mary and Joseph and the rich in faith experience.

Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we, Let all within us praise His holy name

While I attempt to reconcile two very different Christmases, the celebrations only make sense to me in the context of good overcoming evil. God coming to earth in the form of His son Jesus, to live a sinless life, to die for us ... In His resurrection the promise that one day there will be beauty and justice for all. 

The end of death. 
The end of suffering.

O Holy Night

~     ~     ~     ~     ~     

(Written and originally posted in 2010 - reposted in original format 2011 - EDITED 12/10/12 and posted AGAIN. Thank-you so much for reading. again.)

So.This is Christmas:

From our family, to yours ... 

We're grateful for the cyber-relationships we've built and the odd and sweet little community of encouragement and friendship we've found here.  Thank you for being that for us.  We wish you a blessed Advent season, a very Merry Christmas (without any fear) and a Happy New Year.   

Love, 
T&T & Tribe

~     ~     ~     ~

Production notes and factoids from the 6th annual extravaganza:

• This year's edition (this song) brought to you by John Lennon, Yoko Ono, and Troy Livesay. 
• Lennon unknowingly and posthumously added a Jesus-y verse to this well-known holiday song.  He thought when he named the song "Happy Xmas" that he might take the Christ out of Christmas - but  nuh-uh, Troy Livesay put Him right back in. Bam.
• Apologies to Yoko if that's not cool. (Please don't sue us.)
• This is the first year five kids sang together.
• Snow in Port au Prince is almost unheard of, the timing of the filming was really quite providential.  
• This is the first year we learned some of our kids inherited Tara's musical ability. Ahem. 
• Wondering how Santa took off the weight and stays so trim? It's Zumba and a quasi PALEO diet -  alternating with Rice and Beans and large quantities of the popular Haitian orange soda 'Couronne'. 
• Lydia as an angel? Her most challenging role yet.
• The main filming day the humidity was 70%, the mosquitoes were ferocious, and the audience at our filming location was stunned and left speechless by the oddness of what they were seeing. Apparently this isn't something they see everyday.
• Lest you think this is all joy and Christmas spirit, see photos for proof of some struggles during the production process.  It seems Dad got 'crady'.

 I love you Dad. I have a question, why are you most crabby at me?
Dad love you read the back please from Noah

 I kind of don't like singing

• 2012 Christmas Extravaganza - that's a wrap.

photos and a few words

The day the kids all wore their Baylor shirts. Sic em!

The day last week where we called for a field trip and took our friends to the beach. The boys dedicated some of the time to being odd.  Troy photographed it.

 This is the same beach day with the crouching tigers; the adults just stood on the ground.

The day a couple weeks ago where a large man stood on the bumper while others tried to push the truck out of the rocks, his contribution wasn't all that helpful. Since this time a large earth crushing machine finally came and made this road passable (yet still lacking) for the first time in months. Happy!

The day where our godson Grady and Lydia took dozens of photos of themselves. They disagreed with one another on every topic.  Even "It's hot" couldn't be agreed upon.  If Grady said "It's hot", Lydia said, "Not REALLY hot though."  They act married so we're planning that for them.

There was a day this past weekend where for no apparent reason I cried about sixteen times. Noah brought in some mistletoe to make the season bright and try to cheer up his insanely emotional mother. It worked.  Larger mistletoe equals longer kiss equals more joy.

There was a day we went to see parts of Haiti that I'd never seen before. Obligatory road-side photo with Noah.

There are days where Paige oversees Lydia working with giant horses and she's so good at it that I feel a lot of motherly pride watching it.  This was last Friday. Paige was meant for this.


On occasion there are days when evil small voices whisper "Your children will grow up to be bitter about the things they missed" ... On those days the voices are told to shut-it and a reactionary event is planned. This weekend the reactionary event was making sugar cookies and creating a Christmastime environment (while dripping sweat).  If the kids grow up bitter this post will be pulled up for them to see.  "RIGHT HERE is the proof that you never missed out on Christmas cookies. See that?" All kids, from all places -  have equal rights to bitterness when they are grown.  The only difference here is that my children will be forced to look upon this-proof of how happy they once were.  :)

the sad moment when Isaac realized the word Christmas wasn't going to fit across that cookie 

Noah was not into the cookie-making at all.
He handled the dancing.

~     ~     ~     ~

In Heartline BABY News:

17 year old Fabienne delivered a 4 lb 13 ounce baby girl at a local hospital due to pre-eclampsia, she has been recovering in Heartline's postpartum area for a couple of days. We're praying for bonding and successful breast-feeding.

Fabienne and daughter 

Quindra delivered this big baby boy, named Kensley, this morning around 7:30am.

Two more babies still due in December, both to first-time teen moms.  Prayers for safe deliveries to wrap up this year are appreciated! 

hear the angels sing

By Rick Porter (Uncle Rick)

Hear the Angels Sing 

Perhaps it’s just the Ebenezer Scrooge in me, but I’m not much of a caroler. When pressed into participation I sing, but rarely with the gusto of those around me. And too often I sing in a rote way, not giving full attention to the words. There is however, one line of one verse of one carol that always captures my attention.

A story is told of a man seasonally employed to bring the presence of Santa to Christmas gatherings for businesses and schools. He was on his way to a gig, an office party, but had been asked to stop by the nursing home to make a quick visit to the residents. This was pro bono work, but if Santa won’t do it who will?

He quickly made his rounds with a “ho, ho, ho” to each room. Just before departing, he peeked into a darkened cubicle where an elderly man lay apparently asleep, curled on his bony side. Santa prepared to leave in a flash. But the man made a feeble beckoning gesture visible in the dim light of a tiny Christmas tree. The volunteer Santa approached. The man whispered something so faintly as to be inaudible. Santa moved his jolly old ear very close to the man’s dry mouth. “Forms are bending low,” the man said. Santa did not connect the phrase, assumed confusion, gave a patronizing pat, and hurried off to his paying job.

As he arrived at the office party, holiday music was filling the room. The words of an old carol floated from the ceiling speakers:

O ye beneath life's crushing load,
Whose forms are bending low,
Who toil along the climbing way
With painful steps and slow;
Look now, for glad and golden hours
Come swiftly on the wing;
Oh rest beside the weary road
And hear the angels sing.

The song was “It Came Upon A Midnight Clear” written as a poem in 1849 and put to music 10 years later. The essence of the song is that angels did not just appear and sing at the birth of Christ. They show up and serenade regularly and often. 

Just when we are so burdened as to not hear, at the most difficult of times, when life’s loads crush and our forms bend, they minister most. Immanuel, meaning “God-with-us,” attends us as His invisible person, the Holy Spirit, and He is attended by angels. The heart of God is to meet us at life’s darkest intersections with comfort, encouragement, a touch of heaven, and a breath of hope. The old man in the nursing home wasn’t just complaining to Santa about his lot in life. He was acknowledging that in Santa’s visit, no matter how hurried, there was an angelic grace.

Whether or not you sing the carols this year, be encouraged to live the carols. For you, this season may not be one of happiness, good memories, or togetherness. You may be grieving, regretful, or lonely. Life’s road seems crushing and your form is bending low. That does not disqualify you from the true Christmas message. While others scurry in apparent happiness, the invitation to the crushed and the bent still stands:

Oh rest beside the weary road
And hear the angels sing.

Recycling this post is Christmas tradition.

Coming to the Table

Guest Post by my friend, Sharifa Stevens

(Originally posted HERE at Manna Express Online)

‘Tis the season of family meals. The glorious bounty of Thanksgiving reminds us to be marked by gratitude. Christmas Day is a commemoration of our Savior’s humble birth and extravagant love. New Year’s Eve is a time of optimism and reflection. We celebrate this season by dining at the table, surrounded by friends and family, united in gratitude and celebration.

There’s one more Table I would like us to remember. This Table unites us, as siblings, in our brokenness, and in our sanctification. We are a family as we partake at the Table.

Right now we sit awkwardly at the same banquet, feuding siblings with a feast before us; the Table of communion, to eat the bread and drink the cup in remembrance of the One who died for us.

Perhaps a reintroduction is in order. Remember me? I am your sister. You are my brother. We have been at odds because an election cycle knocked us both into a carnal pit to brawl over which political party had the most excellent way.

I called you a bigot, an elitist, one who longed for bygone days, and would do anything to keep your desperate hold of the reins of power.

You called me entitled, a taker. You said I wanted more welfare and free gifts, even if I put the country in vacuous debt.

Good times.

So here we are, battered, apprehensive, and angry. The Table will not be fractured, no matter how great our desire to secede from one another. Jesus prayed, right before He broke bread at this Table, right before He gave up His life, that we would be renowned for our love for one another. Our unity would be a signpost. Our love, an arrow pointing straight to Christ.

The Table will not be fractured.

This Table of communion represents our hunger for salvation, sated. Our shame, covered. We would not dine here if we were in any way sufficient in ourselves.

We are broken, fallible. We make mistakes. We are willful. We desire our own way. All of us.

We are also adopted sons and daughters, given a rich inheritance, sealed by the Holy Spirit. Our Father is the Lord. We have been washed, we are new, we are being made new.

We have some decisions to make. We can leave the Table and put our faith in someone or something else. We can attempt to ignore each other, eat and drink condemnation on ourselves and ponder what our discipline will be.

Or you and I can look each other in the eye and talk like brothers and sisters ought to. Sure, we will fight; family fight sometimes. But when we live in the same household, we work toward resolution. Our voices sound gentler. Our goal becomes God-honoring peace. People who share a common name are less likely to try to slander it. We share the same Name.

This is a pivotal time in our family history. We can tear each other apart for tabloid amusement and short-term satisfaction, or we can dumbfound the world by coming back to the Table--together--buoyed by Spirit-filled resilience, humility, and a desire to put the shine in Jesus’ glorious name.

Aren’t you hungry for more? For that more excellent way that we sought and could not find this past November?

I know I am. Let’s eat.

Sharifa Stevens is a wife and mother, singer, and writer. She earned a B.A. from Columbia University and a Master of Theology degree from Dallas Theological Seminary. She lives in Dallas, TX.