My good friend, Stacy Pratt McDermott, writes at Being Mack’s Momma Bear. Every time she posts a new blog, I am blown away by her grace and determination to walk with the grief of losing her youngest daughter, Mackenzie. The thought of losing a beloved daughter terrifies any parent. Stacy, her husband, and their older daughter live with this loss every minute of every day.

Each essay posted on Being Mack’s Momma Bear, shimmers with love, loss, and hope–yes hope. Hope doesn’t mean that everything will be okay, or even that it should be. I believe that hope is, as Václav Havel wrote, “a state of mind, not of the world. Hope, in this deep and powerful sense, is not the same as joy that things are going well, or willingness to invest in enterprises that are obviously heading for success, but rather an ability to work for something because it is good.” This is what Stacy does each and every time she posts an essay about her beautiful daughter Mackenzie McDermott–she hopes. I suggest that you go to Being Mack’s Momma Bear now and read all the posts, but first I would like to direct you to her most recent post.

 
I had dinner with Stacy the other evening, and we talked about her love of Facebook and her belief that Facebook is a place to connect with friends and look at pictures, to forget political differences and just rejoice in each other’s lives. However this weekend, she broke her political silence on Facebook to direct folks to her newest post. I implore you to read it. Like all of Stacy’s blog posts, it is measured and generous. It is, without a doubt, my favorite political essay during this election season, not because a person I love and admire deeply is the author, but rather because the author has hope in the great possibilities we can achieve together as citizens of the United States.

This is important friends. Read it, and then share it, and when you are done, go back and read the rest of the blog. I love you all!

Mack Memo #3:  Love Trumps Hate