Midweek Faith Lift
Todd Davis, Guest Speaker
The Long & Winding Road
June 18th, 2025
Good morning, my friends, and welcome to Unity Church of Ames! How it goin, eh?
My name is Todd Davis, and I am Rev Deb’s husband. Deb is currently visiting her sister in St. Louis and will be attending the 2025 Unity Conference in Overland Park. Thank you all very much for joining me and it is an honor to be in front of you this morning. It is fantastic to “see” your beautiful faces & spirits. Both here and online!
Happy Juneteenth! This day is also known as Emancipation Day, Jubilee Day, Freedom Day, and Black Independence Day. June 19th, 1865 was the day that slaves in the state of Texas were finally notified that they were free and the 13th Amendment was ratified in December of 1865, outlawing all forms of slavery. I am overjoyed that we as the United States of America now celebrate this amazing day as a federal holiday and we will continue to do so!
Happy Father’s Day! Happy Fathering Day. Happy Stepfather’s Day, Happy Grandfathers Day. Happy Older Brother’s Day. Happy Father’s Day to all of you!
I also would like to wish ALL OF YOU a Happy Pride Month! LGBTQ++. Pride Month traces its roots back to the Stonewall riots, which occurred in New York City in 1969. The first Pride marches started the following year, in 1970, to commemorate the multiday riots, and these one-day celebrations eventually evolved into a full month of LGBTQ pride. I am honored and comforted that we spend an entire month celebrating our LGBTQ++ Community, and we will continue to do so!
I had some challenges in selecting a topic for today. It finally hit me one week ago that I would like to share with you my spiritual journey since the time of the election in November of last year. It has changed my life and has made me a much stronger person. I have walked through fear, worry, sadness, anger and also, faith, strength and power, 3 of Unity’s 12 powers.
I have grown more compassionate, empathetic and more mindful of how I treat myself and others. I see myself and the world from a higher perspective and I no longer take certain things for granted. I will share with you a brief chronology of my life starting from last October though today.
Early October, Deb and I were on a guided bus tour for our first trip to the Emerald Island, Ireland. I engaged in the bad habit of looking at news during our first evening in Cork. I saw that Harris and Trump were even in the polls. It was at this point that I started to worry that my preferred candidate would not win the election. I put it off and enjoyed the rest of our trip through Southern Ireland.
On November 5th, I felt numb all day and I did not watch the election returns or any analysis on TV or the internet. I did not watch any news. Instead, I watched youtube videos of elephants, crocodiles and outtakes from Grumpy Old Men. I did look long enough to see that my candidate would not win North Carolina. I was very pessimistic and decided to go to sleep, or try to. I woke up multiple times, but did not look at my computer or phone. I had assumed that trump won, and he did.
In the three weeks that followed, I shed many tears, not of sadness, but of fear and terror of what might happen. I didn’t eat or sleep as well, I but managed as I needed both. I could not relax, however, I did my best. During this time, I had a divine idea. Each and every night, I decided to visualize sending love and light to every corner of the United States. White, pink, violet, blue and green light of love to everyone. EVERYBODY! Harris voters, Trump voters, even those who didn’t bother to vote. Red states, blue states, urban, rural, you get the idea. I started to sleep much better.
I was extremely busy in December with my job and with all the Christmas prep, so that kept me occupied. I could feel myself getting stronger. I was even beginning to look at a few Youtube videos, but not the news on TV. It was during this time that I found an intuitive reader on Youtube named Venia Hill. Venia gave predictions, which over time, proved accurate. She was very comforting and spoke repeatedly about, “Divine Love having the final word,” “Divine Love working her magic,” and “Letting Divine Love do her thing.” Venia had a near-death experience at the age of 17 and it completely changed how she saw everything. I still watch all of her videos and she has made a huge difference in my life.
January came and I was still doing better until a few days before his inauguration. I started to panic and was worried about what would happen. I got myself calmed down, and by this time, I was focused on preparing for our winter getaway trip to Carlsbad, California, so that helped. I did not watch the inauguration, however, heard that he had pardoned all the January 6th insurrectionists.
We left for San Diego on January 23rd and upon landing, I realized that I had won/earned an incentive trip to Ireland. I think that half the plane heard my joy. We’re going back to Ireland, Love!” I was still in a state of fear during the entire trip as I heard more about what was happening with DOGE.
Early March, I attended a hosted buyers event in Santa Fe, New Mexico. I met many amazing people and it was a healing time for me. I felt a sense of “normal” within myself for the first time….until I heard that Iowa’s governor signed a bill legalizing discrimination against trans people. I was livid. I had met a woman on the trip and she was telling me about her honeymoon plans with her fiancé. We were still talking after we arrived at that evening’s reception and suddenly, the tears ran down my face. “I hate Iowa and I want to move out!” I told her. She was so kind in telling me, “Iowa is your home and you belong there. They cannot erase you or trans people. You and your wife have worked hard to create a safe community at her church. Stay, stand up fight for what’s right.” I thanked her and gave her a hug. We enjoyed the rest of the evening at the reception and drone show.
Deb & I took my incentive trip to Ireland late March & early April and it was then stat I started to believe in the depths of my spirit that things would eventually be OK in our country and in the world. We had an amazing trip and it was literally a 6-star experience. Nothing like it!
Easter was very difficult for me because I was worried that 45 and his administration would impose martial law on April 20th, Easter Day. I attended church, but I did not enjoy the potluck because I had no appetite. As the day drew to a close, I was able to relax and sleep peacefully.
About a week into May or so, I started to feel, “normal” again. Whatever that means? I felt that I had regained my footing, however still very concerned which is very healthy, given the current situation. Deb and I Went ot visit our grand-child, Sayre in New Orleans and we had an amazing time. Sayre is 100% adorable. They love to say, “Oh, my goodness. Oh my gracious.” I think Grandma Deb had something to do with that!
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I would like to read a passage from Author Carolyn Myss. "Empowerment demands that we become strong enough to seek truth rather than run away from it. We prevent truth from entering our psyche through acts of deceit, such as denying how we feel or creating excuses for our disempowering actions. We also seduce or deceive others to protect ourselves from learning too much about ourselves too soon." Caroline Myss
I would like to close today with several quote that I find to be inspiring.
"For to be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others." - Nelson Mandela, in his book, Long Walk to Freedom
Freedom is never given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed. - Martin Luther King Jr.
Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. – Martin Luther King Jr.
“You only are free when you realize you belong no place. You belong every place. No place at all. The price is high. The reward is great.” – Maya Angelou
Now to our meditation………….
I would like to start with a poem by Maya Angelou.
“Joy is a freedom. It helps a person to find their own liberation. The person who is joyous takes responsibility for the time they take up and the space that she/he/they occupy. You share it! Some of you have it…..you share it! That is what joy is. When you continue to give it away, you will still have so much more of it.”