Finding spiritual journey fellows on the internet is such a wonderful gift. We are gathering each month on the first Thursday to blog together. Today, you may link up and read more posts at Leigh Anne Eck’s site Turn.
The theme of our posts today is Leigh Anne’s One Little Word, Rise. I love this word. Simple, one syllable, and yet full of hope and love and light. I immediately think of a spiritual I would sing with kids “Rise and Shine and Give God the Glory, Glory.”
This week I presented my students with the Maya Angelou poem, “Still I Rise.” What did they think of this old African American woman laughing out loud on the video and saying she dances like she has diamonds on her thighs? When you place her words in the context of her life and the Civil RIghts Movement, they resonate.
“You may trod me in the very dirt.
But still, like dust, I rise.”
Maya Angelou speaks of the human spirit, the spirit that is guided by and held in the hands of God. I wonder if I have that kind of spirit. Preparing to teach about another Civil Rights hero, Fannie Lou Hammer, I read poem after poem about her being trod in the dirt, over and over, and still she rose. She didn’t give up. I am humbled by her resilience.
Looking to these heroes who turned against adversity and prejudice and pain, and led their friends to Rise, I feel an obligation, a resolve to be strong and resilient. I cannot do that without being willing to be humble and kind and to turn my heart to the love of God.
Reflections on the Teche 