Rashida

January 20, 2009, President Barack H. Obama was inaugurated as the 44th president of the United States.  I’m not a political follower, nor do I claim to know all that there is to know about the subject, I actually don’t like politics, but I watched the inauguration with tears in my eyes.  Seeing my people for once being able to have the same rights as those of a different- not superior- race than mine, gave me hope.  Hope for my children, hope for America, hope for our future.  So many people say, “America’s come a long way…THIS IS 2009!!! Racism is a thing of the past”, but oh how wrong you are.  When you’re not subjected to it, you become blind to it.  I am daily reminded that I wear this beautiful caramel skin, I am reminded that I am not of the majority and I am expected to take a back seat.  This may sound melodramatic to some, but stand a day in my shoes.    I know that America has come a long day, Tuesday proved it, but we still have so far to go.   And even if you didn’t vote Obama, history has still taken place.   I am proud of the events that have taken place, I am encouraged about what my children were able to see, and I am motivated to continue to live the Dream.  God Bless President Barack Obama and God Bless America!

“…And so let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire.

Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York.

Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania.

Let freedom ring from the snow-capped Rockies of Colorado.

Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California.

But not only that:

Let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia.

Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee.

Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi.

From every mountainside, let freedom ring.

And when this happens, when we allow freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God’s children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual:

                Free at last! Free at last!

                Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!”

In Bible Study, we are starting 1Samuel.  This starts with a beautiful story of an incredible woman who was barren.  The Bible says that “The Lord closed Hannah’s womb”.  Having a child seemed to be what she wanted more than anything.  Desperate before the Lord, she cried to him.  She asked Him to remember her and give her a son.  She repeatedly asked the Lord for what she wanted.  She cried out so desperately, that her husband asked her why did she continue to get drunk.  She merely stated that she was not drunk but was praying to God with her whole soul.  She diligently served the Lord even though she laid with her husband and did not get pregnant.  She even told the Lord that if he gave her a son, she would give him back to the Lord and he would serve Him all of the days of his life.  Hannah did just that.  She had a son, and she allowed him to live in the temple and serve the Lord there. 

As a mother, I think of the longing that my body had for children.  I knew that I always wanted a child.  To not be able to do so would have been disheartening for me.  This woman prayed as her body was wanting to give in to the natural desire to have children, she had a baby and just as she promised, gave him to the Lord.  She gave him to the LORD!  How many of us would let our son whom we prayed for for years and years, would actually let him live at the temple for all of his life?

Here’s the prayer:

Then Hannah prayed and said:
       “My heart rejoices in the LORD;
       in the LORD my horn ^[a] is lifted high.
       My mouth boasts over my enemies,
       for I delight in your deliverance.

 2 “There is no one holy ^[b] like the LORD;
       there is no one besides you;
       there is no Rock like our God.

 3 “Do not keep talking so proudly
       or let your mouth speak such arrogance,
       for the LORD is a God who knows,
       and by him deeds are weighed.

 4 “The bows of the warriors are broken,
       but those who stumbled are armed with strength.

 5 Those who were full hire themselves out for food,
       but those who were hungry hunger no more.
       She who was barren has borne seven children,
       but she who has had many sons pines away.

 6 “The LORD brings death and makes alive;
       he brings down to the grave ^[c] and raises up.

 7 The LORD sends poverty and wealth;
       he humbles and he exalts.

 8 He raises the poor from the dust
       and lifts the needy from the ash heap;
       he seats them with princes
       and has them inherit a throne of honor.
       “For the foundations of the earth are the LORD’s;
       upon them he has set the world.

 9 He will guard the feet of his saints,
       but the wicked will be silenced in darkness.
       “It is not by strength that one prevails;

 10 those who oppose the LORD will be shattered.
       He will thunder against them from heaven;
       the LORD will judge the ends of the earth.
       “He will give strength to his king
       and exalt the horn of his anointed.”

I would love to have just a portion of the faith that this woman, Hannah, displays in this story.  She was an amazing inspiration to me.

Cans of Green Beans

Cans of Corn

Cans of Yams

Pies

Boxed Stuffing

Boxed Mashed Potatoes

French Fried Onions

Sugar/Brown Sugar

Cream of Mushroom Soup

Chicken Broth

Cranberry Sauce

Juices

Packaged Apple Cider

Plasticware (Plastic “to go” containers, napkins, silverware, plates, cold cups, hot cups with lids)

**If you are able to donate a turkey or ham, please call the church or let me know.** (503-281-9472)