“Struck down, but not destroyed.”

-St. Paul the Apostle

One morning, I was sitting in my bedroom, doing my morning devotional while sipping from my favorite mug filled with warm green tea when I heard a loud thud on the side of the house. I got up to investigate. I pulled back the blinds on the patio window so I could look outside. Initially I did not see anything when I looked through the window. I then angled my head down and there I saw it. On the brick covered ground right outside my window was a little auburn bird. It lay there lifeless, on its back with its breast face up. Its breast was a beautiful cream color with green hues. Its neck appeared to be broken and one of its wings appeared dislocated.

“Girls! Girls!“ I called out summoning my daughters to come to my room. They filed in one by one, answering, “Yes, Mommy“ and looking at me expectantly. “Look at this,“ I said to them pointing down at the bird. “I think the bird didn’t see the glass of the window and tried to fly straight through it. It’s so sad. It killed itself.“

I then sat back down and went back to my devotional and green tea.

One by one, my daughters drifted away from the bird and went back to their morning chores and the business of preparing to go to school. All except one. My third daughter stayed with the bird and after a few minutes, she said, “Mommy, the bird's leg is moving.” I responded, “That’s probably just the nerves displaying residual involuntary movement. That bird is dead.“ “No, Mommy! His leg is really moving. I think he’s alive,“ she insisted. She called out for one of her sisters who joined her and said, “Mommy, now his neck is moving. I think he’s alive.“

“That bird is not alive,” I responded. “Go finish your breakfast and get ready to go to school.”

After I finished my devotional and took my shower, I came back out to my bedroom and saw that the girls were watching the bird again. “Mommy,” my second daughter said, “the bird is sitting up now. His leg is injured though. And his wing. I don’t think he will be able to fly or walk. A cat might get him. Can we go help the bird? Maybe he needs a splint for his leg.”

“No,“ I said. “A bird that can’t walk or fly is not long for this world. We will let it be.”

About 20 minutes later, as we were preparing to leave the house, one of my daughters ran up to me and said, “Mommy, Mommy! The bird is gone. He flew away.“

“Wow,” I said. “I was wrong. The bird made a comeback.”

Sometimes situations and circumstances may appear to us hopeless when they are not. This is because our ability to perceive things is restricted by our life‘s circumstances and limited by our particular lens. My belief that the bird was dead was influenced by my experience with impending death of loved ones in the past. My experience with grief taught me that in the long run, it was better to accept the difficult reality of imminent death as soon as possible. I had learned that it would help to process what was occurring, and ultimately, help me to move on. It was also a mechanism that served to protect my emotions. Having hope that things would improve or turn around could be scary and also came with vulnerability. I felt as though I was protecting my children by encouraging them to do the same in this situation.

However, my children weren’t jaded in the way I was. They believed in their hearts that the bird was not dead. They hoped against hope that the bird would make it, and ultimately, the bird was revived.

They were right. I was wrong.

There are indeed times where acceptance of the harsh realities of life is appropriate. However, keeping oneself grounded in the reality of what has transpired before us should not come at the expense of faith and hope.

I encourage all of us to allow ourselves to hope. No matter how bleak circumstances look and how hopeless things may seem, allow yourself to believe that things will turn around. Give yourself permission to have faith. We’ve all had circumstances and situations where we’ve been down and others might have counted us out, but we weren’t out. Let’s all be like the little bird. Scourged, but not broken. Afflicted, but not dead. Persecuted, but not abandoned. Struck down, but not destroyed. We are made to be resilient.

Get ready for your comeback.

World Changer of the Month — May 2021: Sister Rosetta Tharpe

Hailed as the "Godmother of Rock and Roll," Sister Rosetta Tharpe, was an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, recording artist, and pioneer in her unique guitar technique. Born in Arkansas in 1915 to parents who made ends meet by picking cotton, she was one of the very first recording artists to use heavy distortion on her electric guitar, which gave rise to the electric blues. Tharpe heavily influenced early Rock and Roll musicians, including Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley, Little Richard, Carl Perkins, Chuck Berry, and Jerry Lee Lewis. She was a woman performing and recording in what was, and remains, a male-dominated music scene. An undeniable force, Tharpe broke down barriers of sexism and racism with her grace, charm, sharp wit, strong will, incredible work ethic, and supreme talent. The United States Postal Service issued a 32-cent commemorative stamp to honor Tharpe on July 15, 1998. In 2007, she was inducted posthumously into the Blues Hall of Fame. In 2008, a concert was held to raise funds for a marker for her grave, and January 11 was declared Sister Rosetta Tharpe Day in Pennsylvania. To experience one of Tharpe's electric performances, visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9a49oFalZE. To learn more about her life and legacy, please visit: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sister_Rosetta_Tharpe and https://unitedagainstracismnm.wordpress.com/2019/02/06/sister-rosetta-tharpe/.

“Anxiety and self-doubt are the key ingredients in the recipe for underachievement.”*

-*Adapted from a quote by Leon Seltzer, PhD.

“I don’t think I can do it this time,” Cara*, my former student, said to me with tears in her eyes. “I don’t think I can get As this semester. It will be a stretch for me.”

Cara was approaching semester finals. For context this young lady was brilliant. She had gotten straight As her entire academic career, including during the prior semester. She was at the top of her class and a leader in STEM among her peers. She had received national recognition for her intellect. But for some reason she didn’t think she could do it this time.

“Why?” I probed.

She didn’t have an answer. “I don’t know why I feel this way,” she lamented. I did. Let’s survey the evidence.

The evidence demonstrated that she was highly capable and probably one of the highest performing students at her school. The evidence demonstrated that she could perform at elite levels in both local and national forums.

So why in the face of all of this evidence, would she believe that she was not capable of doing something that she’d done many times before? Why would she believe the proposition that she could not do it in the face of countless examples that she could?

The answer was clear. This wasn’t about ability or talent. This was about an internal war raging inside of her. She was being internally pummeled and brow beaten by the lies of self-doubt and anxiety. Lies that, if believed, threatened to paralyze her and prevent her from performing at the level at which she was capable, and ultimately, keep her from achieving the greatness for which she was destined.

When we become paralyzed by our fears, doubts and insecurities, we are neutralized. The gifts, talents and unique attributes that have been bestowed upon us by our Creator will never see the light of day. As a result, suffering and deprivation ensue. Not just our own internal suffering as we cope with the regret we experience after giving up and allowing our gifts to go unrealized, but the world suffers a loss as well in that it has been deprived of the enrichment those gifts would offer.

Each of us, no matter at what point in time and space we find ourselves, are at that moment for a reason. Shaped by our past experiences, we arrive prepared to each moment we encounter, especially the challenging ones.

No matter how scary it may feel, we must embrace these moments. We must choose faith over fear. If we refuse to take that next step and choose to believe the lies that we can’t do it, we will have squandered our gifts.

I let Cara in on my assessment.

“Cara, you were made for this moment and every moment like this that you will encounter in the future,” I said. “You are more than capable of mastering this material. You have done this before. You will do it again. Do your part. Run the race to win and believe.”

I say the same to you, dear reader. Whatever you are facing, do not give up. The world is waiting with bated breath to see what you will accomplish once you cross your finish line.

*Name has been changed to protect the student’s privacy