The Power of a Good Book

Recently I was reminded again how a good story, even when it is not specifically religious in nature, can inspire, deepen faith, and solidify our commitment to justice. My mother-in-law recommended the book The Help, by Kathryn Stockett, about African American maids working for white women in Jackson, Mississippi in the 1960s. Once I started reading it, I could hardly put it down. Stockett writes from the perspective of three different characters: Aibileen, a maid who has raised seventeen white children in addition to her only son; Minny, a maid whose tendency to talk back has lost her multiple jobs and who is raising five children of her own; and Skeeter, a recent college graduate who longs to be a writer and to solve the mystery of what happened to the maid who raised her. Together these three women embark on a project to record the stories Jackson's maids have to tell and to get these stories published.

Stockett beautifully confronts issues of race and family dynamics, true friendship, true love, and the cost of following your heart and speaking (or writing) your mind. She also reveals, as some of America's best authors have done, the pain that necessarily results when one group of people considers themselves superior in every way to another, so much so that they treat the other as if they exist to serve the superior group. Reading The Help reminded me once again what a tragedy this is and how destructive this behavior is to everyone who takes part in it, willingly or unwillingly.

Stockett writes in the afterword to the book that the one line she truly prizes is this (speaking of the book that Skeeter, Aibileen, and Minny write together): "Wasn't that the point of the book? For women to realize, We are just two people. Not that much separates us. Not nearly as much as I'd thought."

One thing our faith teaches us is that every human being is created in the image of God and, as such, must be treated with love and respect. When another person has deeply hurt us physically or emotionally, this is a very difficult thing to do and may not ultimately be possible on this side of heaven. Reading The Help and hearing the Rev. Dr. George Anderson speak about the Gospel of Matthew (in which Jesus tells his disciples that we must forgive those who hurt us not just seven times but seventy times seven, in other words, our forgiveness should be essentially unlimited) in the same week has gotten me thinking not only about what it means to be created in God's image but also how that image gives us the capacity to forgive even what at first seems unforgivable.

I'm willing to facilitate a book group at FPPC if anyone is interested. We could start by reading and discussing The Help or another recommended book. Stories, especially fiction, often open doors to aspects of our faith that we might not otherwise look at closely. If you're interested, let me know. Or if there is a book you've read this summer that has impacted your faith, I'd love to hear about it.