This past week, many Americans mourned as the beautiful Nottoway Plantation burned down. For those who did not have the chance to enter that plantation and house, to celebrate weddings and soirees, you missed a treat. It was a beautiful place and a symbolic place for many. The sense of loss of this property was quite profound.

It is near impossible to mention the word plantation in America without mentioning the sordid institutions that are a part of the unfortunate history. The involuntary servitude that took place in these places is a sad reminder of how low humanity can go. While most good people of the South mourn the loss of this property, we also mourn the lives of those who were not treated fairly and had their stories lost to time. This was their home too. A place where, through hard strife, they arose. They managed to smile. They raised families. They cried for freedom. And all of that is the history of this place.

So imagine the troubled waters of my heart when the memes of this disaster came aflutter. Like a butterfly who hops up on the nectars of division, there were memes showing the proverbial ‘cookout’ and people celebrating while this beautiful landmark of history burned in the background. My soul cried out. Just take a look:

If I had my MeeMaw’s pearls I would clutch them and if I was in that scene I would pray for rain and throw as many buckets of cold water at those flames. Because in times of strife, no matter our beliefs, as Americans we owe each other civility and decency. Not many stopped to think of the small town whose economy is now wrecked with the loss of this beautiful home. My tears fall, just like they fell at the thought of loss of the 155 souls who were once held involuntarily on this land and built this house being physically erased if this place is not rebuilt.

Friends, this is a time for mourning, not celebration. Nothing is gained from destruction, but it is upon the grounds like this we can pay the greatest honor: continuing to live on, teaching the follies of our past, but celebrating the promise of our future. So let’s pray we can restore this great monument and celebrate the promise of our future.