It’s the last week of January and next month we celebrate African American History Month (or Black History Month) whichever you identify with. Either way, there will be a lot of attention given to “looking back”. Often times we are told to never look back, forget about your past, keep your eyes forward. But there are times when we must look backward in order to move forward. My brotherfriend (yep that’s a word, at least for me) Rick Grant shared a Netflix special with me on Mashama Bailey. Look for it on Netflix under Chef’s Table. OMG, this touched the very core of my soul! Ya’ll know I’m a southern girl and I fully embrace my countryness (that’s a word too). Chef Mashama Bailey spoke about her journey to finding her true calling and how she had to “look backward in order to move forward”. It was not until she embraced her heritage that she found her true culinary calling. She talked about “the beauty of survival, the fruitfulness of hope and the resilience of our culture”. THIS!
As we look to February and African American History Month, how about we not let it be just a month. There is no one teaching our kids today the resilience of our culture. How can they embrace the fruitfulness of hope and the beauty of survival if they don’t know what we survived? How can they set a path for their future if they don’t know their past? So let’s take a moment to look back, but dont’ get stuck there. Look back…..and then move forward!
Happy Sunday Saints!
#IAmMyFathersGarden