It is sad that we are not sitting together,having coffee and talking about these things or anything else that might come to mind. We might even pass a talking feather.
I know we would laugh and talk on and on. I revel in the company of my people. I don’t mean to insult anyone who is not native, but my friends understand why I am the way I am. I have grandchildren who think I am stodgy and gruff. I remember thinking that of my father, but I remember he and my mother coming to pick me up at Ft. Leonard Wood, Missouri after basic training. When they pulled down the driveway near my barracks, I came out on the steps to greet them. Dad laid his head in his hands on the steering wheel and wept uncontrollably. I am glad the Creator led me to study historical trauma and become aware of the residuals so I could help my Dad. I am also glad to come to the understanding that our fathers do not act like their western counterparts. It does not mean they do not love us. They are like they are because they are Indian. It took years for me to realize that I am not a throw away. I am not stupid. I am not incompetent. I am not lesser. I have something to offer to my fellow human beings. There is a seat for me in the midst of all my human family today. I have been beaten, nearly choked to death by a grade school principal, denied equal opportunity, had my human rights violated before I was born, in an effort to steal my heritage by exterminating my relatives. I know what it is to be denied housing and work because of my race. When I did get jobs, I was sometimes considered a liability because my character had been assassinated by Hollywood before I was born (at least, almost before I was born.) I sometimes think I would like to go to Wiki or Walpole Island and stay among the people. I need to relearn my first language. I would like to pray in my own tongue before I walk on. I know even as I say these things there are at least a thousand out there who feel the same way and have experienced the same thing. I remember the prophet thinking he was alone in his worship and devotion to the Creator. The Creator told him to cut it out and to stop feeling sorry for himself, “...for I have seven thousand who have not bowed their knee to baal.” (1st Kings 19:18 KJV) So, today, I will bow my knee to the Creator and His creation. I will remember I am not my own. I am bought and paid for and I am glad because the other alternative was no good. I am glad I could read the Book and understand what it was, and is still, saying to me, an Indian. I wish there was a way I could encourage every Indian to read the Book. We complain about how the Euros came to our land with a Book in their hand. Now we have the Book and they have our land. What they don’t know is this earth, as it is now, will pass away, but His Word will never pass away. In the Book is the way of life and hope for us all. Religions came and still make prisons today, but if we ever understand the Book we can come to know true freedom for he whom the Father, Creator, sets free is free indeed. He promises, “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.” John 8:32 NKJV When all I knew was the world, and the conditions around me, my life was miserable. I drank to try to medicate the hopelessness and pain. In that life I lived as a castaway, but today, I am free. I am in the world, but I am not of this world. Sometimes I wished I had been rich, but then remember the statement, “...not many wise, according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called.” 1st Corinthians 1:26 NKJV. I take it there is a trap in that. The Creator has answered our needs every time. I often think of the words of Solomon who said, “give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me.” Proverbs 30:8 KJV. Ice cream and sirloin steak is not good for us all the time. I have a close friend who struggles so. He is so angry with the non-native world and refuses to think the Book can help him. There is so much to be done. So many that need to be healed and delivered from the bondage of this world….so much that needs done. We have gathered a considerable amount of items for the Rosebud Reservation. I need to raise funds to take them to them, and minister to them while we are there. Please pray for our journey when you pray. If you can help us with a donation that would be good too. We all need to remember that we are good people with many ancestors who loved life and peace. Since the arrival of western civilization we have not known peace, except for those quiet moments with the Creator, and in our private fellowship with each other. I greet you all in the precious name of Jesus Christ and a special greeting to my friend in Harrison, Michigan who has encouraged me with her words.
0 Comments
|
Free subscriptions☺Archives
October 2017
Categories |