This month, I had the privilege of visiting Ghana in Africa with students from Indiana University. While I was there, many thoughts and feelings emerged that I attempted to process. Below are my thoughts about my heritage as an African and what I gleaned from this experience.
*Below are also pictures of our trip. It was an AMAZING experience. Thank You Lord!
After Ghana
She is a part of me, as the river to the sea
From her I am a tributary.
Oh Giver of life and land,
Thank You.
*Below are also pictures of our trip. It was an AMAZING experience. Thank You Lord!
After Ghana
She is a part of me, as the river to the sea
From her I am a tributary.
Oh Giver of life and land,
Thank You.
I feel a certain connection I cannot explain. When I am there, I am home. I am loved because I have returned home. The persecutions have not stripped that away. The people seem to be easier to relate to even though our lives are very different. When I listen, I can hear connections. When I look I can see my ancestors and contemporaries. When I touch I can feel the hard work of the fisherman, the innocence of the child, the welcoming embrace of the brother. It is a spiritual moment and a spiritual place.
There has been some sort of closure from this experience. Not as if I can move on from my blackness, but there is a sense of identity I have now that I never had. At no time in my life have I ever felt the peace in my blackness as I did there. In fact, my blackness was not even a question; I could focus on other things/thoughts. Inexplicable, but undeniable.
Again, there is a sense of completeness. In the same way that a Mexican can claim Mexico, an Irish can claim Ireland, and a Japanese can claim Japan, I can now fully proclaim with confidence that I am African. Through this experience I know what that feels like and looks like. It is a heritage to take pride in. We are a people of great strength and ingenuity. (Psalm 68:31, below) This is a history to run to, not run from.
Thank you Ghana for introducing me to myself. As the river to the sea, I have come from thee.
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Psalm 68:31
Princes shall come out of Egypt; Ethiopia shall soon stretch out her hands unto God.
There has been some sort of closure from this experience. Not as if I can move on from my blackness, but there is a sense of identity I have now that I never had. At no time in my life have I ever felt the peace in my blackness as I did there. In fact, my blackness was not even a question; I could focus on other things/thoughts. Inexplicable, but undeniable.
Again, there is a sense of completeness. In the same way that a Mexican can claim Mexico, an Irish can claim Ireland, and a Japanese can claim Japan, I can now fully proclaim with confidence that I am African. Through this experience I know what that feels like and looks like. It is a heritage to take pride in. We are a people of great strength and ingenuity. (Psalm 68:31, below) This is a history to run to, not run from.
Thank you Ghana for introducing me to myself. As the river to the sea, I have come from thee.
-----------------------------------------------------------
Psalm 68:31
Princes shall come out of Egypt; Ethiopia shall soon stretch out her hands unto God.
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