Growing up, there was a popular nursery rhyme that went something like this…..
Humpty Dumpty sat on the wall
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall
All the King’s horses and all the King’s men could not put Humpty together again.
It dawned on me this week that Humpty Dumpty could be anything or anyone. It could be you. It could be me. It could be our community. It could be family relationships. It could be a business venture or an opportunity waiting to happen. It could be anything.
If Humpty could be anything that needs to be put back together, then who are the King’s Horsemen and what were they trying to do, because whatever they were doing to put Humpty together, honey, it did not work.
Could the King’s Horsemen, in our time, be the rescuer or the financier of the family?
Could it be the mom or dad who keeps bailing out a child?
Could it be political parties?
Government?
I believe that it is not so much about “who,” but the fact that whoever or whatever it is cannot put our failed relationships, homes, and communities back together again.
Crime and violence, that continues to plague us, can be managed. It can be punished. It cannot though restore or redeem a community that has fallen off the wall.
Our government is not going to be able to put our families back together. It is not going to be able to restore the brokenness in our hearts, the failure of our businesses, or the things lost through the fire, through tribulations and trials. The closeness that we once felt in family relationships, before the “glue” went on to glory, cannot be restored by the hands of the King’s Horsemen. The hopeless feeling of a woman or man in a tough spot cannot be resolved by the legislation of the King or his Horsemen.
“All the King’s Horsemen” cannot raise our kids.
“All the King’s Horsemen” cannot stop our community from using our buying power in neighborhoods outside our own.
“All the King’s Horsemen” cannot UN-burden our senior citizens.
“All the King’s Horsemen” cannot get us out of debt.
“All the King’s Horsemen” cannot stop Black men from killing Black men or Black women from killing Black women.
The King’s Horsemen cannot redeem what has been lost. But we can.
You and I can do what the King’s Horsemen and all the King’s horses could not. We can decide. We can, together, restore. We can commit and stand our ground when storms threaten to pour. We can choose not to fail or fold. We can decide to lend a helping hand. We can choose that not another moment goes by without forgiving a family member that has hurt us. We can decide to put our spouses and family above all else after God. We can choose to sit our kids down and teach them to dream, to execute, and sow back with history as a point of reference.
If teachers cannot teach our history; mom, dad, and the village still can.
We can set curfews for them to be in the house, and consequences for when they bully or choose the wrong path. We can choose to support each other, and love and encourage each other in a world that at times feel like it is against us.
The King’s Horsemen do not have a responsibility above our own responsibility to take care of each other.
For many of us, Big Mama is gone. The matriarchs and the patriarchs are now in glory. The torch passed to us to run the race of love, cooperativeness, and justice for our communities.
Justice in our communities requires action. This November it will require you to VOTE.
Love and peace in our communities requires action. Police chiefs and departments across this country cannot bring order alone. Our communities require engagement, starting at home.
Cooperativeness starts with deciding not to just be disagreeable for the sake of being disagreeable. It requires togetherness that allows us to hold to our convictions, while allowing others the space to live out theirs.
Some of us have not had a model of how our communities, homes, and businesses are supposed to look. The dysfunction in our families sometimes goes back far. I know that personally. I have contributed to the dysfunction, just as the dysfunction has knocked at my door.
There is this hope though in my belly that STILL I can rise. Still, you can rise. Still, our communities can rise. Still, our children will rise.
STILL…we are our answer, with our faith as the guide.
I am no longer looking for the King’s Horsemen to put my family, or community, or I back together. The King’s Horsemen, frankly, does not have a good track record, historically.
I am the answer. You are the answer.
Standing with us, are many, and if Elisha was right in 2 Kings 6:17 then, “…..the mountain is full of horses and chariots of FIRE” and they are ready to anoint our efforts and back us up.
All the King’s Horsemen gave their best effort, or not. Regardless, we are our answer.
Sharwin Wiltz-Boney is an entrepreneur, business consultant/coach, speaker and author who currently serves as President and CEO of a financial infrastructure management company that has operated in the Houston area for more than a decade. Utilizing the experience, she has gained through business ventures and her very own life journey, Sharwin invites you into her Musings. Have a comment? Drop her a line at sharwin@sharwinboney.com.