MLK Day Reflections

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that. ” Dr. Martin Luther King

Today, our country is observing Dr. Martin Luther Kink Jr.’s birthday and all of his accomplishments for civil rights. The first time the day was celebrated in Georgia was in 1986. I was sixteen and simply grateful for the day off from school. I never really gave much thought to the reason why.

To be completely honest, I never gave the Civil Rights Movement too terribly much thought period. “Whites Only,” signs and Desegregation were things of the past when I was growing up and like most kids, I didn’t find history particularly interesting.

Every now and then, a movie would come out that would do a good job at depicting how life was for African-Americans before desegregation and it was so deplorable, it almost impossible for me to comprehend.

Last week I was subbing in a fifth grade class and the teacher read the students a book about Dr. King. Children’s authors rarely get enough credit. It’s truly amazing how they can tackle very intricate concepts using easy to understand words, pictures, and very few pages. It was called, “Martin’s Big Words,” and was written by Doreen Rappaport.

Although I knew Dr. King’s story, there were a few things that jumped out at me this time. First of all, when Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on the bus, in December of 1955, and was arrested, the African-Americans who supported her, refused to ride the buses until laws were changed. For 381 days, they walked. They walked to church. They walked to work. They walked to school. They walked in blistering heat, rain and snow. They refused to ride the buses on principle. They prayed. They sang. They refused to participate in violence, although they were sometimes treated violently. They believed, with King’s guidance, that God was on their side.

How awe-inspiring is that? Can you imagine all of that walking? Can you imagine being that committed to something today? Can you imagine all of those protests remaining peaceful in this day and time? They remained faithful in their belief and God used their plight to change the hearts and lives of Americans all over the country. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 made the, “Whites Only,” signs come down.

The other point that spoke to me, was that Dr. King kept at his peaceful protests for ten years before he saw the legal changes he was seeking. That’s a long time; yet he remained faithful to his beliefs. Through it all, he prayed. He stated that if he were killed that the movement would go on, because the plan was God’s plan, not his.

Man’s way is often about instant gratification, violent and quick, like what we often see going on in American streets today. But, Dr. King reminds us of God’s way. God’s way takes prayer, obedience, trust and patience, something I think we can all agree, is in a large part missing from American life.

I think today is a great day to take some time in prayer and thank God for the faith lessons of Dr. King and other people like him. It’s also a good time to pray that our country will turn back to God and His plans for us.

Every time we choose a peaceful resolution over violence, Dr. King’s dream lives on.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂