“So Timely”
Petrified
Flowers was released on Tuesday, June 16, 2020 during a time
in our country’s history that has been referred to as Racial Restoration. I
would like to call it Racial Reckoning, but I don’t believe a full reckoning
has come. In my mind, true restoration hasn’t been fully realized either. My
word choice might be attributed to that fact that my tendency as an African
American woman is to consciously choose verbiage that won’t be construed as
threatening. “Reckoning” has an ominous ring to it. I’m constantly fighting the
urge to be fully emotive for fear of being labeled as an angry Black woman.
Petrified
Flowers is about a grief and disquiet that permeates the life
of an African American girl until God enters her purview and cloaks her anxiety
in His love and His wisdom. He restores Iris and her entire family. In the span of just two years Iris travels
through three different spheres of American life – she is an upper middle-class
minority, then she walks as an impoverished majority member. Finally, Isis is
propelled into a utopian school where children are seen for who they are inside,
and directed to work hard, serve, and positively impact society. I believe
every child should exist in that third sphere.
As
people begin to read Petrified Flowers, I keep hearing how “timely” the
publication is. And, since I’m being brave and fully vulnerable here, I must
confess. I hear the characterization “timely” differently, depending on who says
it to me. The first time a white sister complimented Petrified Flowers
that way, it was like a lash on my heart. It split me wide open. I wanted to
reply defensively, “Yes. It’s been timely since 1619.”
My
good friend Laurie O’Connor, author of Live ABOVE the Chaos, recently
gave a talk as part of a Bible study series she wrote - One Gritty Blink.
I always learn something new when Laurie speaks. And, this time I learned about
the “Six Selves” Communication theory. The theory goes like this; there are six
selves involved in every interaction:
·
A
·
B
·
what A thinks of B
·
what B thinks of A
·
what A thinks B thinks of A
·
and what B think A thinks of B
I
don’t know about you, but that feels exhausting to me. It reminds me of when I
was a kid. If another kid tried to interrupt a conversation, we’d sassily say,
“This is an A, B conversation, you can C your way out of it.”
All
jokes aside, while even reading this theory feels way too entangled to me, I
recognize it’s also totally accurate. For
example, when a white sister tells me Petrified Flowers is “so timely,”
I immediately think issues of racial injustice have just now sprung up for her
because she saw a news clip, or read an article on the internet. The inequality
my people have been experiencing for centuries is new to her. She thinks this
is the perfect time to publish a book about it because she is finally
interested in reading that kind of book. The truth is, I have no idea what my
white sister is thinking, or whether she has been attuned to racial injustice
for her entire life.
When
a sister with African roots tells me Petrified Flowers is “so timely,” I
assume that she is thinking what I am thinking – enough white people are
finally waking up, and so they will be more likely to purchase Petrified
Flowers, and to sympathize with the plight of Iris and her sisters. This
book is yet another avenue toward the recognition of, rejection of, and
reparation of racial justice.
The
truth is, I have no business interpreting these statements differently based on
the color of my sisters’ skin. When I do, I am no different from the people
that I accuse of seeing me as Black first. The truth is, Petrified Flowers
is timely for all of us – Christian, Black, white, young, old, female, and yes,
even male. It is timely for poetry lovers and those who have been reluctant to
delve into the complicated web that poetry weaves, with its multiple
definitions and myriad interpretations. Petrified Flowers is an
illustration, inspired by God for such a time as this.
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Special Note: Laurie O’Connor graciously allowed me to use her name and her teaching in this post. Laurie is a dynamic teacher of the Word. You can follow her, subscribe to her blog, and purchase her book at https://www.oaksministries.com/
