Shirley Caesar - You Stayed

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Curtis Mayfield The Making Of You!

My Prayer To You!

I pray for a speedy recovery, my friend.  I pray for good health and prosperity.  I pray that you take the time to appreciate yourself. I pray that whatever struggles you are going through you will overcome.  I pray that you find the inner strength to always maintain your confidence.  I pray that you will continue to fight against the destructive habits that try to destroy you and continue successfully to stay away from them.  I pray that you find divine guidance obtain wisdom and understanding.  I pray that the transition you are going through means you are mentally and spiritually growing on your journey. I pray that your grudges towards others will be removed and that peace be restored.  I pray that someday you will find the courage to forgive those that offended and hurt you. I pray that you will be united with the people you love long enough to tell them that you love them.  I pray that you learn to be grateful for the small things you are given as well as, the bountiful.

Analysis of Dissecting an Onion!

 God was skinning me layer by layer like someone peeling a thick onion.  One layer at a time peeled to each membrane that separates the onion’s layers.  Like a skilled surgeon, methodical and meticulous, he exposed my faults.  Parts of me were exposed that I did not know I had.  I could not tell the difference between pain or fear because both were overwhelming and unbearable.  I felt vulnerable and there was nothing I could do about it.  I felt like a baby who could not fend for itself, waiting for someone to take care of me.  I was broken.

Fear and distrust drove me to be the type of person I am.  It also kept me from being the type of person I should be.  I kept out people with interests different than mine and I thought they had other reasons to get close to me.  You are a great friend until you are no longer needed.  Most of us learned it the hard way. Don’t try to analyze me, I had a great childhood and loved my family and friends. 

I grew up in a time when society was segregated.  As young children, we could not understand why we could not drink out of the same water fountains as the white children.  We could not go in some restaurants but through the side door or servants’ entries.  I remembered my first trip to New York was waiting for the bus in a dusty baggage area instead of the clean waxed floor and air-conditioned waiting room as our counterparts.  They even had a water fountain, soda and a snack machine.  Our people would pack brown bag lunches for us filled with fried chicken that could last the duration. We had other snacks that would keep us full to avoid going in stores in unfamiliar towns.  We had to sit in the back of the bus.  Trains were not that different, it did get us to our destinations faster, but we were still told to sit in special box cars.  Blacks had to sit in balcony section in the movies but it never bothered me.

There were two societies back then, Negroes and Whites.  I look back and think of the labels we had from Colored, to Negro, Black and now African-American.  Black and African-American seems to be interchangeable now.  Senior black men were still called boy and whatever name that seem to fit at the time.  It was common not to be seen on the same social level. 

The Supreme Court ruling in 1896 in Plessy vs. Ferguson that separate facilities for whites and blacks were constitutional encouraged the passage of discriminatory laws that wiped out the gains made by blacks during Reconstruction.

On June 7, 1892, 30-year-old Homer Plessy was jailed for sitting in the "White" section of the East Louisiana Railroad. Plessy could easily pass for white but under Louisiana law, he was considered black despite his light complexion and therefore required to sit in the "Colored" boxcar. When Louisiana passed the Separate Car Act, legally segregating common carriers in 1892, a black civil rights organization decided to challenge the law in the courts. Plessy deliberately sat in the white section and identified himself as black. He was arrested and the case went all the way to the United States Supreme Court. Plessy's lawyer argued that the Separate Car Act violated the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Amendments.  The Plessy decision set the precedent that "separate" facilities for blacks and whites were constitutional as long as they were "equal." The "separate but equal" doctrine was quickly extended to cover many areas of public life, such as restaurants, theaters, restrooms, and public schools.

Many blacks are passing for white.  Why not?  They don’t want to be treated as their darker complexion brethren.  The master during slavery discriminated but didn’t see anything wrong with sleeping with the slave women.  Mixing enough can change the complexion of anyone.  The people you might think are white just might not be who you think.  Comments about being Blacks being the racists are nonsense.  They are distractions from the real racists.  When you are considered a second-class citizen, inferior and lazy that does not make you racists.  It makes you angry because you never had equal treatment because of your skin color.  No one can decide in what race or family you will be born in, no one.

The fact is that not much has changed in our society now.  Racism is a learned behavior and it passed down from generation to generation.  Somewhere within that generation it will stop.  How can a nation built on immigrants escaping from the abuse of their country find the time to be intolerant towards others, especially, when greed abused the Native Americans that already lived here and took their lands?

Jim Crow was the practice of discriminating against black people, through a set of laws passed in the Southern states, after they had earned their freedom from slavery.  These laws were enforced with extreme prejudice. Blacks could not vote until the late 60s. Congress responded to rampant discrimination against racial minorities in public accommodations and government services by passing the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The Act also included some voting rights protections: it required registrars to equally administer literacy tests in writing to each voter and to accept applications that contained minor errors, and it stated that persons with a sixth-grade education were sufficiently literate to vote. However, despite lobbying from civil rights leaders, the Act did not prohibit most forms of voting discrimination.

There were so much hatred towards people of color and it hasn’t changed much now.  I find it extremely perplexing that there have been so many polls on the Obama Administration and how they seem to cast fear in particular segments of society.  I question comments that he is “half-black” when I never seem to hear that he is “half-white.”  This is the mental block that not many people will admit.  The real fact is they do see him for his color and their fears are about what this black man will do to America.  A small section of society gets the most news.  The media loves these polls because it makes them money and stirs up hostilities.  The truth of the matter is if Congress had actually set out to work with the President, the polls would give different numbers.  Is it that easy to forget what the republicans stated that they will do everything in their power to make this a one-term President?  They decided that they will not work towards bringing America together, but separating it with partisan politics.  Personally, ask Mitt Romney and Eric Cantor about the polls.

Yet, I hear how much blacks hate whites just as much as whites hate them.  Do two wrongs make it right?  Instead of speculating why not talk to the other person civilly you might find that the frustration and disgust they feel about their unfair treatment.  A man might not have power and authority but if you disrespect or take away his dignity, you don’t know what to expect from him.

I have learned that hatred can come from the people you least expect.   Always, keep an open mind and do not be judgmental.  I experienced my own when I attended boarding school in New York.  My first night when I pulled my sheets back for bed, I found a small sheet of paper on my pillow that someone had written, “N*###h, go home.”  I don’t want to dwell in this area of racial hatred and discrimination too long.  We must learn not to stereotype everyone because of one or two people.  There are good and bad people in all areas in society.  You have to put the bad memories behind you and move forward.  Otherwise, it will stunt your spiritual growth.

“Be careful for what you pray for, you might get it.”  Depending on what you prayed for, you might get your answer but not the way you expected. God does have a sense of humor but not man’s sense of humor.  He will give you an answer and even though it was not what we expected, it was even better.

I started seeing my spiritual growth when my mother passed.  The day before she died, I knew it.  There was something deep inside of me that I felt.  I hugged her for the final time and told her it was okay and how much I loved her.  I also told her that I could not stay, I’m going home.  I’m not cold-hearted or insensitive but I could not bear seeing here leave.  I believed that my mother knew it because when I returned home, my brother called me and told me that she also went home.  He stayed in the room with her.  My mother meant a lot to me, she was my anchor and rock.

I learned a lot about treating people with respect and dignity from her.  It takes some time but it doesn’t hurt to be nice and kind.  She told me to always be true to myself.  It has gotten me into some serious situations and took a toll on me.  But I learned from the mistakes I made.  Yes, “this too shall pass.”  What was miraculous about some of these situations I never noticed when my “morning” came.  I was focused on the situation than God.  But, by the grace of God I was able to move on.

How often do we take our blessings for granted?  How often do we feel in control when the pressures of life burden us?  We can do one of two things; stay in faith and confront the situation or we can give up. We concentrate our time on the problem that we forget who is able to overcome them.  During these times, we don’t make the time to even notice our blessings just the adversities.  Even then, I have taken my blessings for granted.  I often thought of myself as being special, God’s favorite.  Yet, we are all children of God.  Somewhere along this journey being tossed back and forth with life’s stormy waves we forget that we are all children of God.  The fact is, we think that because of our failings and faults, God could never forgive us.

Jesus had his group whom he trusted and they were a lot worse than most of us.  But, they developed a relationship of love and trust with Him because they knew He would give them another opportunity to redeem themselves.  Their loyalty overcame their distrust.  They recognized Jesus’ vision and did their best to carry it out. They knew that they would face failures and obstacles but they trusted Christ enough that He would see them through.

It’s hard to convince someone that there is a light at the end of the tunnel when he can only see darkness.  If your life is miserable don’t make mine miserable, too.  Some make it worse by hurting themselves or others by taking the easy way out.  It’s not worth it.  The losses are greater than the loss they face.  We are all chosen for a purpose and some of us accept the challenge.  Of course, we don’t always know what that purpose is.  It’s a gut feeling that makes us passionate about what we do.  That’s why some people do so well in areas that we don’t think we can.  But those that are passionate about what they do are fulfilling a purpose that they were called to do, meant to do and get it done successfully.

Isn’t it interesting, that some people know early in life what they want to do?  Some are called to service, helping others. Others might have seen something traumatic happen in their lives and seek to do something positive about it.  It doesn’t matter what you do as long as you are doing it for the right reason, to bless others.  To follow your dream requires a lot of dedication and commitments that at the first adversity, we give up.  We may not get national or local recognition for the things we do for others.  Does it matter? We are doing something good for the kingdom of God.

My layers are being peeled back for reasons greater than my understanding.  All that I’ve been through have been for a reason.  I believe that you are never too old and that it’s never too late to do what you were meant to do and be.  Our bondage is limited to the way we think and our attitudes towards adversities.  We were meant to encourage, inspire and motivate each other to improve lives for all of us.  Humility, love, tolerance, patience and forgiveness, to name a few goals, are something to work towards.  They are not easy to achieve but we can try.  It takes sacrifices to work hard for something worth having.  It is no doubt that the enemy of man will do everything to distract our focus from achieving our goals.  That’s why we can’t do it by ourselves.  We must submit to a higher authority, our Creator within us, to help combat the works of the enemy.

I am convinced that we all have been given unique gifts. It’s up to us to find a way to use them.  We must be respectful and patient of others who may not share the same thoughts as us.  We don’t need people around us who can’t believe in us.  We don’t need the negativity.  Yes, we are chosen for a divine reason, we are not the only ones who believe in ourselves.  Our Lord believes in us and gives us the ability to comeback from our setbacks. 

To The Surviving Family Members of Malaysian Airlines Flight MH17!

Our prayers are with you and the innocent victims of those that express hatred for all things good!  We pray also for civil unrest around the world and here in the United States!  There are too many areas to name!

Childlike Faith!

“I tell you the truth, anyone who doesn’t receive the Kingdom of God like a child will never enter it.” Mark 10:15  (NLT).

Close your eyes for a minute, I hope that you are not driving while reading this. Think back to a time and place when you had no concerns or cares.  All that you wanted to do was just eat, play and sleep. Our only world was the one around us where we did not even know about paying bills, taxes or buying gas. Our parents took care of all that and many other grownup things that did not stress us out. We did not stress out too much because our priorities were different and we expected the grownups to take care of problems.

As a little boy, I played stickball in the street, climb trees, rode roller-skate go-carts and took risks never thinking of the consequence because a children we weren’t afraid of anything except the boogeyman. For those children who were blessed to have a father or grandfather in their lives while growing up seemed to have that their father or grandfather could do anything. They were bigger, stronger, and smarter who gave us just about whatever we wanted. They also got the biggest dinner plate but that was okay because they had to be strong. They also issued the discipline when mom felt that she could not get through to us.  

As I grew older with responsibilities, those worries that my parents had came rushing in. I had a job that I no longer enjoyed. I had bosses that I could not trust and my fears and doubts began to seep in. I felt overwhelmed and frustrated.  A door was closing and I could not keep it open.  The peculiar thing about it is that I had prayed for a change.  I just wanted it done my way. I forgot my faith in the present while too busy thinking about my future. I had bill collectors that didn’t care as long as I paid the bills on time. I had overcome a lot of obstacles and challenges but believed that God got me through even though my faith was not as strong as it should have been. As the years passed by, I began to dwell upon the days of my childhood, searching for the antidote to cure all those fears that were making me lose my way. My antidote was approaching God with childlike belief.

When I was young, I did not need to worry, my parents would take care of my problems.  I would bring my problems to them and expect them to handle it which they did. I had not developed my faith in God at the time but I sure had faith in my parents. I did believe in angels because of the pictures I saw with angels standing behind little children.  Also, my mom told me that everyone had a guardian angel especially children since they are innocent to the world's demands. The world has a way of leaving scars inside of you if you are not prepared. My memory of angels revived when they began to show themselves to me in adulthood. I knew they were angels because strangers walked up to me to tell everything will be alright and God is with you.  They were people I never met and never saw again.  It was at those moments that begin to lead me back to dependence in God.

My faith is growing stronger day by day but it is not easy.  My faith knows that God is always beside me and is always concerned about my well-being.  As I begin to let go and lean on God, I am becoming the man God wants me to be. I still have those days those worries try to overtake me -yet I refuse to be defeated. The pressures of this world want us to take our focus off of God.  He is my fortress and I will walk anywhere He leads, knowing God will never leave me.

So, the next time you feel yourself caught up in the fear of this world, close your eyes tightly for a moment and picture that child who walked without looking over their shoulders; the person you were before the world took it’s toll on you.

Today I pray that as you approach those trees in your life that remain unclimbed, you will grab onto a branch and go to new heights. I pray that God will never let you fall. And most of all, I pray, that as you are transformed through His will, you will have “the light of the world” right beside you every step of the way.