Hello All
Happy Friday to you!
There are many in this world that are heros. They come in all shapes, sizes, colors, ages and beliefs. Sometimes they are heros because of their shape, size, color, age or belief and how they shine their Light into our world.
Many of you know that Malala, a young girl from Pakistan, that survived being shot in the face for going to school, is a big hero of mine. She is now becoming a remarkable young woman and even bigger hero in our world. Because of the courage and Sacred Heart she has shown and continues to show to humanity, she is an example how a hero can be young and small in size while portraying old soul wisdom and standing tall with integrity, changing our world for the better. Malala is a young Pakastani woman, now living in England for her safety, with the unwavering belief that all girls deserve an education and she risks her life everyday to continue to bring that message. Malala is, and will continue to be, a true Hero and role model for everyone on our planet.
I would like today to honor a young American, who to me is a hero because of her shape, size, color, age and beliefs and how she shines her Light into our world. She too, like Malala, is helping change biased and small minded views and is another young woman who has become a Hero of mine.
She is, as they say, an ‘all american girl’ who was born and raised in Maplewood, New Jersey. Her dad is a retired New Jersey police officer and her mom is a Special Education teacher in the Maplewood, New Jersey public schools. Their daughter started her historical path at the age of 13 when she started playing the sport that would take her to the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro where she was able to win a Bronze medal.
It takes incredible heart, courage, determination, intelligence, grace and talent to participate as an athlete in the Olympics, much less win a medal. But she displayed all of the above and in such a way that she proudly honored her size, color, age, beliefs and America. She did this with heart, courage, determination, intelligence, divine grace, talent and wisdom.
This awesome young American recently wrote a letter to our President. I read her letter in last week’s Time magazine, and I want to share it with you. Normally, in the Godsign posts, Spirit has me explore and have fun with all the Ways our Creator communicates with you everyday. This week, Spirit said that we honor Malala and the work she does, and we need to continue honoring her and other young people that help change our world for the better with their courage and willingness to Speak Up!
So, I am sharing with you how this young woman Spoke Up, with grace, dignity, wisdom and courage, honoring her American life, its roots, beliefs and the rights of all Americans, in a public letter she wrote to our President.
THANK Ibtihaj for shining your Light!!!
Her letter, is below. It is shown as published and printed in Time Magazine, ©TIME, dated 4/3/17 (Spirit made sure I noticed the date on the magazine. Didn’t we just talk about 43 and 34 and 44 last week? . . . Jesus using Godsign saying please share this – imagine that!)
Dear President Trump,
Representing the United States in the Olympic Games was the greatest honor of my life. I will never forget walking into Opening Ceremonies behind our American flag that I revere surrounded by my teammates. Each drawn from different sports, many of different faiths and various ethnicities. Yet, in that diversity was America itself: united by love for our country.
My story is a quintessential small-town-America story. In my hometown, Maplewood, New Jersey, the question was always which sport I would play, not whether I would play one. My point isn’t really about sport, it’s about opportunity — the opportunity to strive for and believe in one’s own destiny. That is what made America’s story so unique from any that preceded it, and mine and every other American’s as well.
I love America because of the simultaneous idea that we are both exceptional and flawed — as individuals and a nation — and, that it is our collective responsibility as a people to honor each other’s potential.
That is why I am writing you this letter. I am the picture of the American Dream — a public school kid, with loving parents who told me that with hard work and perseverance, I could be whatever I wanted to be. By believing in myself and refusing to take no for an answer, I have broken barriers and shattered stereotypes. I was the first Muslim woman to represent the United States in the Olympic Games wearing hijab. I was blessed to win an Olympic medal alongside my team at the Rio Games. I was a black Muslim woman in a little known sport. And on the world’s biggest stage, I defied labels and showed the world that being Muslim was also being American.
And yet, when I listen to you, I feel that the story you tell paints another picture entirely. You seem to see refugees fleeing terror as terror’s root, rather than refugees as terror’s victims. You seem to see our nation’s contributions to refugee resettlement as “bad deals,” rather than as shining examples of what America has always stood for. You seem to see the hijab I wear as a signal of threat and cause for fear. You’ve said, “I think Islam hates us.” That is not only wrong, it provokes fear and hatred, and as we have seen it also provokes violence against Muslims and our places of worship. Surely that was not your intention — I do not want to believe that. Yet I feel that you and your administration see me and people like me not as fellow Americans, but as “others.” Your ban on travelers from Muslim-majority countries and Syrian refugees has implications that are felt far beyond the countries listed. I am referring to implications not only in the courthouse, but in line at Starbucks. Not on the nightly news but in the night terrors of children who wonder if their home and parents, are safe. Is this what you intended when you took your oath to uphold the Constitution of the United States?
The climate of fear and hatred fueled and perpetuated by your campaign is gaining momentum through your actions in office. Since your election, I have been “profiled” at the airport, accused of looking “suspicious” and, on the streets of New York, I have been told to “go back to my country.” This isn’t the America that I know and it isn’t the America that the world looks to for inspiration and leadership.
There are 3 million American Muslims. They teach our children, treat our sick, fight our wars, and despite your attacks, continue to stand proudly on the front lines of keeping all Americans safe. My faith calls on me to help the less fortunate and speak out against injustice. President Trump, look at the math: we do not have a refugee terrorist problem. It simply doesn’t exist. But, I do fear a not-so-subtle campaign of terror now being waged on our American ideals of justice and equality.
The Olympic Movement chose its symbol of interlocking rings of many different colors to demonstrate humanity’s unity . Sport has always been an equalizer and a symbol of peace, even in the ancient Games when wars would cease for the competitions. Indeed, as much pride as I take in being one of America’s firsts, what I most love about my Olympic experience is that my success was born out of my opportunity, freedom and liberty as an American.
Overcoming obstacles was my challenge as an athlete. It is now my challenge as a citizen. I once represented you. Now you represent me. I urge you to do so with the humility, thoughtfulness and kindness befitting your sacred office. As an African-American Muslim Woman patriot, my religion commands me to remain hopeful, to believe in our ability to fight bigotry with love and draw our strength from diversity. That is what makes America great. Time and again.
Sincerely,
Ibtihaj Muhammad
Below is the link that will take you to Ibtihaj’s letter on Time Magazine’s website. I highly recommend the very short video that is on this link of an interview with Ibtihaj. She is an awesome young American hero that deserves all the best America has to offer, as do we all, and deserves another medal just for being a role model to us all and for how this awesome young American shines her Light into our World.
http://time.com/4706627/olympic-fencer-ibtihaj-muhammad-donald-trump/?iid=sr-link4
Firework
by Katy Perry
Do you ever feel like a plastic bag
Drifting through the wind, wanting to start again?
Do you ever feel, feel so paper thin
Like a house of cards, one blow from caving in?
Do you ever feel already buried deep?
Six feet under screams but no one seems to hear a thing
Do you know that there’s still a chance for you
‘Cause there’s a spark in you?
You just gotta ignite the light and let it shine
Just own the night like the 4th of July
‘Cause baby, you’re a firework
Come on, show ’em what you’re worth
Make ’em go, oh
As you shoot across the sky
Baby, you’re a firework
Come on, let your colors burst
Make ’em go, oh
You’re gonna leave ’em falling down
You don’t have to feel like a waste of space
You’re original, cannot be replaced
If you only knew what the future holds
After a hurricane comes a rainbow
Maybe you’re reason why all the doors are closed
So you could open one that leads you to the perfect road
Like a lightning bolt, your heart will blow
And when it’s time, you’ll know
You just gotta ignite the light and let it shine
Just own the night like the 4th of July
‘Cause baby you’re a firework
Come on, show ’em what you’re worth
Make ’em go, oh
As you shoot across the sky
Baby, you’re a firework
Come on, let your colors burst
Make ’em go, oh
You’re gonna leave ’em falling down
Boom, boom, boom
Even brighter than the moon, moon, moon
It’s always been inside of you, you, you
And now it’s time to let it through
‘Cause baby you’re a firework
Come on, show ’em what you’re worth
Make ’em go, oh
As you shoot across the sky
Baby, you’re a firework
Come on, let your colors burst
Make ’em go, oh
You’re gonna leave ’em falling down
Boom, boom, boom
Even brighter than the moon, moon, moon
Boom, boom, boom
Even brighter than the moon, moon, moon