Recovering Hope: A 5-Day Devotional on the Intersection of Race, Mental Health, and FaithSample

I remember it like yesterday. The new girl at school quietly slid the sugar cookies off her pink paper plate into the trash bin after she discovered they were my contribution to the third grade class Valentine’s Day party. I blinked back tears as she informed those within earshot that she couldn’t eat them because they were from me, and she refused to accept food from someone who’s brown and dirty. That experience and other, similar slights have piled up in the recesses of my heart and mind over the years. They’ve shaped my understanding of self and, as a child, they impaired my ability to see myself as equal to others in majority culture. Over time, I’ve discovered language that accurately explained my experiences, but nevertheless, they remained painful and left me feeling isolated and fearful of showing any sign of weakness.

The term microaggression might sound technical, but the meaning is pretty simple. Microaggressions are small, sometimes unconscious expressions of racism that gradually wear people down. Have you heard the expression “death by a thousand cuts?” That’s a good picture of the way that microaggressions are experienced by people of color. Notice in the definition, however, that these expressions of racism can be unconscious. In other words, the person inflicting the cut might not realize what they are doing. 

For this reason, mental health professionals say that sharing and acknowledging big or small experiences of racism is an essential part of healing racial trauma. It’s a form of education--a way for people of all colors to grow in their ability to recognize racism. But sharing and acknowledging painful experiences isn’t easy. It requires a lot of vulnerability for the person doing the sharing, and a lot of humility for the person doing the listening and acknowledging. 

In Philippians 2:1-11, Paul gives us the ultimate picture of vulnerability and humility. Christ came to earth, took on vulnerable human form, and humbled himself to the point of death--all for the sake of love. We are called to have the same mind. As you read these verses, consider whether the Holy Spirit may be inviting you into vulnerability and humility. Is there a story that you need to share or hear today?