The following is an excerpt from A Brave and Startling Truth by Dr. Maya Angelou, followed by a reflection from our Executive Director, Troy Burden, which was presented at our annual Thanksgiving Service.
We, this people, on a small and lonely planet,
traveling through casual space
past aloof stars and indifferent suns,
must learn a brave and startling truth.
When we come to it—
when we release our fingers
from fists of hostility
and allow the pure air to cool our palms;
when battlefields and coliseums
no longer rake our sons and daughters
up with the bruised and bloody grass;
when we come to it—
when the rapacious storming of the temples has ceased,
and the banners of the world tremble with joy;
then we will confess that not the Pyramids,
nor the Garden of Babylon,
nor the Grand Canyon,
nor any of the wonders of the earth
is our greatest accomplishment.
When we come to it—
we, this people, on this small and tender globe,
who reach daily for the bomb, the blade, and the dagger,
yet who still petition in the dark for peace—
we have the power to fashion for this earth
a climate where every man and every woman
can live freely, without fear.
When we come to it—
we must confess that we are the possible,
we are the miraculous,
the true wonder of this world.
That is when, and only when, we come to it.
In reading this poem by Dr. Maya Angelou, I am reminded that during this confusing and frustrating time, politically, economically, and – honestly, personally – when we come to it; each of us are just ordinary people and must confess that:
We are the possible, we are the miraculous, the true wonder of the world.
Initially, I resisted from titling my thanksgiving message “ordinary people” because it first brings to my mind the Oscar Award winning movie from the 80’s Ordinary People, Directed by Robert Reford and starring Mary Tyler Moore, Donald Sutherland, and Timothy Hutton.
In Ordinary People, an award-winning cast shows us how an ordinary family responds to tragedy, and, for that period of time, raw emotion and realness was certainly uncommon on the big screen.
Recently I attended a concert of by Highland Baptist and Voices of Kentuckiana performing the work Considering Matthew Shepherd” with one of the pieces entitle “Ordinary Boy.”
Mathew Shepard was an ordinary boy, as the song suggests, and in the work Considering Mathew Shepherd, you hear from his diary as a young adult. It sounds like most every young man you may know. We all now know his name now because his life was cut short, by what we now call, and understand as a hate crime. Those who loved him took their ordinary lives and pushed us all to make changes in our laws.
So — I probably shouldn’t have brought up those images for you; but suspect you may have already done that. The phrase “ordinary people can do extraordinary things” often makes us think of these examples above. Finding how we move and respond out of tragedy feels daunting. And let’s face it, none of us want any type of tragedy that will test us like this.
BUT — I want us to think a little differently- –about all of us ordinary people. You and me.
I want you to think about folks like my grandmother, Emelyn Burden. One of my most vivid and enduring memories of my grandmother involved her volunteering for Meals on Wheels. As child, I knew she did this, but until one summer when I “helped” her on her route…I didn’t truly understand.
Emelyn, or “grandmother” as we called her, was one of those proverbial steel magnolias. She was 4’11” – but probably 5’1” with her immaculate white wig coiffed just so. She always wore a skirt and aprons around the house. She spoke softly with a sweet Alabaman accent, but I assure you we did NOT misbehave in her home.
On my visit with her that summer, I was old enough to go with her on her Meals on Wheels delivery. She drove a butter yellow, 1976 Ford Gran Torino Wagon, meticulously clean and polished thanks to grandad. She sat on a cushion and looked through the steering wheel and over the long hood of that car. We picked up meals at her church but then drove across town to a part of Decatur Alabama I assure you, I had never seen.
I had never seen that type of poverty.
I watched as my tiny grandmother took meals out of the car, walked up to homes in disrepair, and greeted those folks with all the kindness, warmth, and genuine friendliness of a friend. She asked about how they were, their kids. I was wide eyed and speechless, imagine that – as she introduced me as her 2nd grandson.
That ordinary act of kindness and service impacted me. I remember it nearly 50 years later like it was yesterday.
Working in Non-Profit leadership now for nearly 30 years has taught me that ordinary people serving other ordinary people is amazing and beautiful. It doesn’t have to be “extraordinary.”
HCM does not do heroic work. We care for children so their parents can work. We serve low-income senior adults and make sure they have lunch and fellowship. We allow kids to play sports and learn about community and often those that are a little different than them. We deliver Meals on Wheels. We feed people and assist with securing the very basics of rent and utilities when emergencies arise OR budgets cannot be stretched.
Our staff, volunteers, and donors are not celebrities. We don’t donate with big “poster board” sized checks. We are all typical folks – but we are folks who love others and feel called to make this world a better place.
When Federal cuts decreased our meals on wheels by 80% – our volunteers and staff immediately went into action to ensure that we would be able to keep meeting those needs. Ordinary, middle-class folks reached out to see if they could sponsor a senior. “What can I do to help?” was asked constantly. The response was beautiful.
Then – the federal government shutdown and the cutting off of snap benefits. Oh my goodness! The outpouring of food donations to our pantry has been overwhelming. Neighbors showing up with carloads of food. We planned to distribute 40 Thanksgiving baskets and now doubled that. Our childcare parents collected a van-load of food. Local businesses held food drives. Others have shown up with a grocery bag handing it to volunteers or staff and simply saying “I don’t want anyone to be hungry.” Food has been coming ALMOST faster than it was going out of the pantry.
So today folks, I just want to thank each of you – ordinary folks, taking care of our neighbors. Volunteering your time, donating food and resources, stepping up to support our community. Highlands Community Ministries needs all of you to deliver our mission.
So even if it is not flashy, or heroic, or extraordinary –
We are the possible. We are the miraculous.
The true wonder of the world.
