Black Women Have It Going On

Good morning from Colorado! As I think about what gets passed down from one generation to another, I have to admit that sometimes it takes someone outside of our family to help us recognize what we are carrying. We can become so accustomed to certain behaviors, ways of thinking, or ways of responding to life that we don’t even recognize them as something that needs to change. We simply think, “This is how I am.” But what if it isn’t who we are? What if it’s something we learned? What if it’s something we picked up while trying to survive? And what if God sends someone into our path who can see something in us that we can’t see for ourselves?

That happened to me through an unexpected person: an emergency room doctor. In a moment when I needed medical attention, this doctor did something that went beyond simply treating what brought me through the emergency room doors. With kindness, they suggested that I consider therapy. Now, that may sound like a simple suggestion, but sometimes a simple suggestion can become a turning point. Someone who didn’t know my entire story was able to recognize that I might need another kind of help, too. They didn’t judge me, condemn me, or try to tell me how to live my life. They simply opened a door and gave me permission to consider that perhaps I didn’t have to figure everything out by myself. That doctor became part of interrupting a cycle in my life.

I’ve thought about that moment many times since then. Sometimes God uses the people we least expect to help us see what we could not see on our own. And sometimes the most important thing we can do is be humble enough to listen. We may not like what we hear at first. We may even wonder why someone thinks we need help. But there is wisdom in recognizing when we need another person to help us navigate something we have never learned how to navigate. That’s what more-seasoned people can do for us. They can reach back, offer what they’ve learned, and help us take a step we might not have taken alone.

And then there comes a time when we become the more-seasoned person.

The person who has been helped can eventually become the person who helps.

The person who once needed someone to point toward a better way can eventually point someone else toward theirs.

Maybe that’s one of the ways God interrupts a cycle—not by erasing our history, but by using our experiences to change what happens next.

The Call to Action

Today, think about the people God has placed in your life who helped you see something differently. Maybe it was someone close to you. Maybe it was someone you barely knew.

Did you listen when they offered wisdom?

And now ask yourself:

“Am I willing to be the person who helps someone else see what they cannot yet see?”

We don’t have to have everything figured out before we can help somebody else. Sometimes all we need is the willingness to share what we have learned and point someone toward a healthier path.

Scripture

Titus 2:3–4 (KJV)

“The aged women likewise… That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children…”

There is a reason Scripture speaks about generations teaching generations. Life experience carries wisdom, and wisdom becomes even more valuable when we are willing to share it.

Someone once stepped in and helped us.

Now, perhaps God is asking us to step in for someone else.

I’ll see you tomorrow for another 15 Minutes with God.