In some hospital somewhere, at some late hour of the night or early morning, a baby girl was born to a new mom.
The mom loved her little girl very much. And as that little girl grew, her mom cared for her, made sure she was safe, warm, fed, and healthy.
When it came time for the little girl to go to school, off she went. Every day she'd come home, tell her mom about what she did, and sit down at the table to do her homework.
And the little girl continued to grow. She could read, add, subtract, multiply, spell, and recite more than a few state capitals.
One day the mom hopped in the car, strapped her daughter into her seatbelt alongside of her, and headed off to the local grocery store. Up and down the aisles they went, mom diligently shopping, and the little girl's eyes taking in all of the labels and words and colorful displays.
As the two turned down another aisle, the little girl tuned into a conversation that two other shoppers were having. She did this often, as you can imagine all little girls do while their parents are busy doing whatever parents do.
As she was listening, she overheard the two shoppers talking to each other in hushed tones, as though they were telling each other a funny secret:
"We are so in the ghetto. Let's just get what we need and get back to the car."
"Look... they only carry like two kinds. Whatever. This'll work. Let's go."
"Yeah. I haven't felt safe since we got out of the car."
That was a new word for the little girl: "ghetto." She never had heard it before. So, naturally, she turned to her mom and asked with all of the innocence in the world:
"Mom, what's a 'ghetto?' "
And that's the end of our story.
Which is also where you begin.
Put yourself in the story.
You're the mom. How do you feel when you hear that word come out of your daughter's mouth? How do you answer?
You're the daughter. How does that word change how you have viewed your home, your neighborhood, your culture, and even your own identity?
You're the shopper. Do you have any idea what kind of affect your conversation has on those around you?
You're you. If you could rewrite this story, how would you?
Reminds me of a quote from Church Diversity that came up in our multiethnic class yesterday:
The Church can't simply talk about taking the gospel to impoverished people around the world, when we can't worship with people across the tracks.
Comments