"You Know Who You Are".

Thank God for friends who will tell us the truth. 

He said it with such friendly, loving resolve that I had to look down and center myself. 

One of the great and powerful things about being in seminary is that you’re surrounded by deeply spiritual people that, if you are open to it, will speak into your life and your heart at a moment’s notice. At least, that’s been my experience. I know everyone hasn’t gotten that. But that’s certainly been the case for me and that was the case one night as I was parking my car and heading in. I saw one of my neighbors / recent graduates / buddies in the parking lot and we got to chatting. 

He decided to share a story about a group dinner we’d been at almost a year ago where he and another classmate were discussing . . . me. The comments were complimentary and I started doing that thing that I do when I am trying to be humble while also not deflecting. 

And like a knife, he cut through that forced humility and discomfort with sweetness and immediacy. 

“You know who you are.”

He didn’t say these words in one of those pep talk or cheerleader ways; just in gentle affirmation that he saw me. 

And this is the problem that many women face. 

We actually do know who we are. 

Statistically, Black women have a higher self-concept than their white American female counterparts. Statistically, Black women are more highly educated than any demographic in the United States. Black women are also statistically the most religiously faithful demographic in the nation. 

And yet they're still treated like the most unlovable and undesired creatures in the country. 

What must it be like to be excellent, know your worth, have a deep spiritual connection to your brilliance and still be devalued?