Matt Lauer.
When I think of 9/11, I hear his voice in my head commentating on the tragic events unfolding before his eyes. When I think of mornings before school as a kid, I can hear his laugh and always saw him, as another publication put it, “America’s clean-cut dad”. So last week’s news of his firing over sexual misconduct allegations shocked me and shook me. I felt personally offended. I had let this man into my home for as long as I could remember.
It is crazy how you can trust someone you don’t even know. And so my heart broke for the people who actually did know him. His colleagues. His wife. His children.
There are so many ways to look at what is happening. So many thoughtful and insightful commentaries on the root of this issue and how to solve it etc, etc. But I kept coming back to two emotions: anger and joy.
Anger: obviously.
Joy: because I have hope that my girls will have the opportunity to grow up in a zero tolerance culture where sexual misconduct is taken as gravely serious as it should be, and not swept under the rug and excused as it has been. Joy because women are starting to bravely step forward and people are listening. Joy because these recent events are forcing hard conversations to happen around dinner tables and in coffee shops.
Yet I knew something was missing in my heart’s response and I couldn’t put my finger on it. Then, yesterday, my husband found this video. And as we sat together watching it, listening to Kathie Lee’s wise and powerful words, I was filled with what I was missing: grace.
If you haven’t seen this, I encourage you to watch it and be inspired by Gifford’s words. If you don’t have 6 minutes, you can skip to 3:30.
Grace on grace on grace.
