Under the Tulip Tree

by Michelle Shocklee

I’m too old these days for secrets or shame. Ain’t nobody gonna judge me ’cept the Lord himself, and he already knows all about me.”

Even though slavery isn’t legal anymore, I believe it’s important to remember the past as it truly was, not as we wish it to be.”

“I don’t like remembering the bad times, but the Lord has a way of using them to get you to where he wants you to go.”

Wasn’t that what life was about? To know and be known. To offer encouragement to others and share the burdens we all face. No matter the color of one’s skin, weren’t we all supposed to care about each other?

Freedom comes in knowing the truth of God. He loves each of us the same. He loves you, Frankie.”

When I came to the Twenty-third Psalm, I couldn’t get past it. I read those lines over and over, and every time it was like sunshine pouring into a dark place.” She looked at each of us, smiling with glistening eyes. “I understood then. I understood what Mammy tried to teach me about God and his goodness in spite of us being slaves. I understood that the masters who beat me and sold me weren’t anything like God the Father. They was sinners, just like me. I understood that bad things are gonna happen in this world and that we’ll all walk through the valley of the shadow of death. But I needn’t live in fear anymore. The things I endured in my pitiful life as a slave didn’t mean God isn’t good or that he don’t love us.”

I hadn’t realized how important she’d become in my life until she wasn’t there.

Was that the key to surviving, no matter what life hands you? Find the good among the ashes?

“They don’t deserve your forgiveness. Sadie probably never admitted what she’d done was wrong.” “Maybe not, but that’s between her and her Maker. I won’t let hatred steal away the peace I have in my heart. You can’t let it steal yours either.”

“Nothin’ surprises the Lord. He’s got a plan and a purpose for everything. We just have to wait on him.”