While holed up during a surprise six-day vacation with snow all around us, we sat as a family transfixed by the harsh images portrayed in the epic movie Roots. Having purchased the boxed set many years ago, this was the first time we shared it with our eight-year-old daughter. As I do each time I view it...I saw it for the very first time...I struggled with Fanta and I cried with Kizzy and I felt the awesome rush of freedom with Chicken George and his sons. But this time more than ever I empathized with Mammy Belle, the devoted wife of "the old African", Kunta Kinte.
When I was first married nearly 15 years ago, my husband and I were watching some movie on TV where the gangsters were forced to leave everything they knew...their homes, their families and their friends to either go into hiding or enter the Witness Protection Program. My husband is fairly quiet and using words extremely sparingly, he said to me the thing that I most treasure....more than, "I love you"...more than, "You are beautiful" (although those things are always great to hear!!!!!)... he turned to me and said, "as long as I am with you, I am home". Wow! How awesome is that? I still get a little choked up when I think of it. More incredibly, I asked him recently if he still felt that way and after such a long time together...he DOES...and so do I!
In Roots, Kunta Kinte even after he jumped the broom with the woman he loved, he still listened for the drum, he still looked for freedom, and tried to find his way back to Africa. While I have never been a slave, (Thank God!) in his constant discontent, wasn't he further enslaving himself? and moreover enslaving his family--as they never knew if today was the day that they would wake up and he would be gone? Did he not find "home" in the love of his wife and his child? While trite, isn't home where your heart is?
Dear Lord, May home for my family always be more than just a physical structure, but a place that provides love and security. Let us know that in one another we are home. Let us not look outside of each others' arms to find comfort and support. Let us create a home that is a strong and solid foundation that is built to last. Let us model it after your example. In your name I pray. Amen.
