Coaching at RashidatO.com | Social Activism at Whereveryougolove.com
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What is the meaning of ignorance?
What is the meaning of discrimination?
What is the meaning of racism?
Last month in Malawi, a young man asked me “what is the hardest thing about doing this trip?”
A surprising, yet true answer came to mind immediately…
“The color of my skin.”
I’ve been out of the country before at different times in my life starting as early at 9 years old. I’ve been to different continents, different countries, and experienced different cultures. As most of those were earlier in life or as a tourist I was received much differently that I have been received as an adult on this trip.
Even recently, I was excited to travel an hour and a half into Kiev from Kolentsi in order to attend the international church of our ministry host. It baffled me as black man walks right up to me hand outstretched to shake it as says with a slight African accent “Hello, where are you from?” I promptly reply “America” with a smile. He shakes my hand says “oh.” And walks away saying “I thought you were my sister” without another word. Dumbfounded I close my mouth and try to recover a smile on my face. I walk to down the center aisle trying to imagine what I said wrong and what just happened. My eyes start to salt over as I realize “I’m black, but not ‘Nigerian’ or even ‘African’ and therefore not worthy, not enough.
“Wow! Is there no where I fit in?” I don’t need your and anyone else’s acceptance, but do I not have a place ANYWHERE in this world?!? God is the only place I’ll be accepted is with You?
I imagine someone speaking Christianese would say, but His love should be enough. My non-Christianese response would say “that’s easy for you to say when you have never spent your life constantly rejected because of the color of your skin or your ethnic background or lack of it!” And more importantly, does the Bible not say we are one? Even if I fit this category as family in no other way, shouldn’t have I been included at least as sister in Christ?
The message in church today spoke about Hope in Hard Situations and Throughout Struggles. “The main questions we ask are ‘Where is God’, ‘Why Me’, and ‘What now’? Our questions are asked out of pain in an effort to elude the pain. The Truth of these answers are:
“Where is God? He is present.”
“Why me? He has a purpose.”
“What now? Embrace His purpose and plan.”
Before I left for the Race I would have thought that most of the racism was not in the US, that most was systemic, but also that there are racist people… all in all I would have thought that racism wasn’t really that bad, but my experiences of the past couple months have opened my eyes.
I don’t know that I could call this a passion, but my heart is definitely growing for the people of the world and what it looks like to welcome all cultures with the Love of Jesus Christ.
As I continue the Race I realize that I’m struggling more, every time it happens, to smile and forgive the offense that I feel. I am finding it harder to rely on the mindset that “they don’t know any better.” While ignorance is bliss, we must learn at some point that our discriminatory actions are not okay and we must be better. I am finding that our world accepting discrimination as a norm spans many characteristics including race, but also so much more.
For anyone feeling the repricussions associated to the sin of discrimination in our would…
I’m sorry that someone has seen your skin and used that as a reason to walk the other way in avoidance of you. I am sorry that someone has read your name without even seeing you and has passed judgement on your ethnicity while stereotyping you. I’m sorry that as your voice has passed through the receiver of the phone the person on the other side has decided your worth, or lack of, based on how you sound. I’m sorry that you, as a woman, are automatically treated differently. I’m sorry how you have been looked at in a way that does not exhibit the love of Christ. I’m sorry that you feel alone. I’m sorry that you feel ousted. I’m sorry that it feels that you don’t fit in anywhere.
It sucks. You don’t deserve to be treated that way. It hurts.
Where is God is all this? He is present. When we choose to accept His gift of salvation, God never says that He will keep these horrible things from happening. But what He does say is that He will always be with you. He is always present.
“But Lord, why me? Why did you choose this struggle specifically for me to go through?” He has a purpose. Our God is sovereign. He is wise, all knowing, and just. He has an amazing plan more beautiful than we could dream of let alone orchestrate. In our sinful nature some times we have to learn our lessons the hard way and other times there is an easy way. But regardless of the way we learn or how God chooses to teach us, He has a plan that we can’t begin to fathom from end to end until we make it to Heaven and He explains it to us.
So why me or why you? Because He wants to you. He created you specifically for a purpose. He created you specifically for this purpose. Before you were made, God saw a problem in the world. He wanted to fix that problem. He wanted to walk with His people in love for that problem. So He created you to be used by Him to fix that problem; to encourage those with that problem; to love those with that problem. But in order for you to effectively be used He had to mold you first. He had to make the problem personal to you and create a passion with you. (He did the same with Jesus). And from that mold He is ready to launch you in the world to fix that problem through Him.
So what now? What do I do now? Embrace His purpose and plan for struggle and for your life; Walk in it with victory. What greater life is there than to fulfill your purpose? So don’t fight it. Don’t be sad about it. End the pity party. Change your perspective abut the experience. And be launched into the world as the weapon you were created to be… the weapon to fight against ignorance, discrimination, womenism, and racism.
I walk along all those weary from these things. I know your pain. Let me cry with you. Let me mourn with you. Let me heal with you. Let me walk in victory with you.
Victory is walking in the redemption that God gives us as we conquer in Him the things that have tried to conquer us.
