Dust. That’s a lot to digest. That’s what I felt like growing up in Alabama. A connection to the land. Lots of hills, backroads, country roads, and hiking trails. I suppose that more often than not, the question was, shoes or bare feet? On many days it was warm, with lots of sunshine and a big blue expanse of sky. Birds were singing a cheerful chorus, and crayon-colored butterflies were flitting about. On other days, it was a soft summer rain, or a fierce, thunderous, rollickin’ storm. Oh, and the thunder would pierce you to your soul!
Yet, we took it all in stride. It shaped us, molded us, transformed, and conformed us...it toughened us up. Like water, it made us able to wear some things down, slowly, inevitably. It dug out a course, carved out a path or channel for our life journey. The path itself may have been winding, or at times meandering, yet they were carved by streams or rivers of living water.
Or, just like a wave or a rolling tide, it can roll over my pathway and wipe it out! A tide can surge, curl up, and pound the surf, over and over again. Eventually the ground yields, the rocks are reshaped, and over time, take on a whole new appearance. There is tremendous power in the tide. What becomes obvious to us is its size and speed. However, the subtle revelation is in the eroding process, the wearing down to the point of consequent surrender.
Hey, that’s a lot like the Crimson Tide. They seem to have developed a knack for wearing an opponent down to the eventual point of submission. You know the game is not over, and they are not going to quit until zeros are on the clock. It’s a mentality, a mindset, an attitude, an aggressive disposition. Not that they are better, but that they will never say die, and that once again, quitting is never an option.
As I stepped on to the track that became my life, the race was not without its bumps, bruises, pains, and struggles in addition to the infused laughter, music, flavor, and cornucopia that became...me. Here was the starting line, Alabama. And as I mentioned earlier, Alabama was far from perfect (what place is) but it sure had some great moments, and it was suitable for me.
In this potting soil of red clay dirt, there was mixed within the roots of racism and bigotry, the undercurrent of the constant themes of inferiority and superiority. The riptides of hatred and bitterness often pulled many into its hideous currents. Yet, woven and interlaced intricately throughout this tattered tapestry, the one thing that could not be so easily unraveled, dismissed, or cast aside, was love.
The Bible affirms in Proverbs 10:12, “Hatred stirreth up strifes: but love covereth all sins.” My parents taught me the value of real love. Early on, I learned that the foolish, insensitive, or capricious actions of a few, could not determine the value and worth of the whole. I learned to look at the individual, not an entire culture. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools.” He also said, “all mankind is tied together; all life is interrelated, and we are all caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.7”
At the beginning of this journey, I was faced with a choice. Either to succumb and be like all those who were governed by fear, prejudice, or the unknown or rise above it, embrace my humanity and be a part of the brotherhood of humankind. Hmm. A rather daunting task, wouldn’t you think? And yet, when I consider it all, it kind of makes me think of a good meal.
Yeah, I’m talking food! Fish, chicken, steak, broccoli, butter, potatoes, corn, lettuce, tomatoes, rice, asparagus, olive oil, green beans, various spices and herbs such as rosemary or thyme, etcetera. Separately, they don’t look like much. In fact, not even very appetizing and by themselves, not realizing their fullest potential.
Nevertheless, put them all together, combine the flavors, and something magical happens. Each one dances on the pallet, mixing, mingling, singing, and sending powerful, savory, messages to the brain. The taste makes music on the taste buds and then, the flavor reaches a climax, a rousing crescendo, and boom. An aria of taste. Talk about your taste buds wanting to just jump out and say, “Thank you!”
As I began this journey, I had to take various and seemingly random elements, put them together, and get them to make music in my life, to form the “Bama thing” that now resides deep within me. The bond of friendships forged. The melody of relationships made. The euphoria of good decisions and oh, the agony of some bad ones too! Locations and residences. Relatives. Schools, both private and public. Church. College. The Air Force. Retirement. Marriage. Children. Thirty-eight years of ministry. Holding hands, making all kinds of plans, both near and far. All of these active life ingredients blended together to make a life. It would be easy enough to fall into a hole, quit, and surrender to life’s ravages.
It would be easy to say enough is enough. But that is what life is all about, a surprise around every corner. And the surprise often turns out to be a blessing, a gift from the Lord that just makes life worthwhile. It’s an embroidery of events, woven by multiple-colored threads, that when plaited and knit together, represent a collage of events, all sewn together in a tapestry that formed this Bama thing!