Let’s Get Ready

Scripture: Psalm 20; Exodus 40:1-15; Hebrews 10:19-25 (NLT)

“Are we ready to live in a world where people are able to be in the right relationship with each other and the land we live on? And if we actually get to that point where we win what we want, are we ready to show up as good relatives and how we will be good elders to future generations? If your answer is, “No, I’m not ready yet,” now is the time to think about how you are going to get ready… Think about how we get to the point where everyone has everything they need without other people suffering.” - Charlene Carruthers, activist and author, Unapologetic: A Black, Queer, and Feminist Mandate for Radical Movements

Meditation:

The longer I’m in therapy, the more I understand that many of us, probably as early as childhood, internalized the belief that we do not deserve community care, fathomless love, and effortless joy. That’s not to say that we never experienced these. We did (and do). However, as souls seeking physical, mental, and spiritual liberation, we are also learning that deep down we don’t quite trust that we should have care, love, and joy simply because we exist.

If I’m honest, I spend a secretly embarrassing amount of my energy resisting the idea that IF I want tenderness and care, love and joy, I have to earn them. And IF I ever earn them, I should plan to devote ALL of my energy fighting and struggling to prove that I should keep them.

I’ve co-created enough space with Black folx in the last couple of years to know that I’m definitely not the only one out here wrestling with a voice that whispers, “You are supposed to struggle.” Or, “Pain means you are doing ‘the work’”. And, “If you rest, you will lose it all”.

These are, of course, lies. Oppressive, capitalistic, racist systems depend on our collective Black cooperation with this deception.

I say, “To hell with that”. And as a matter of fact, I want to have a radical imagination that asks, “what might we manifest together if we did more than just resist the lies”?

What if, instead, we prepared and consecrated ourselves for unbroken community, pure love, and unapologetic joy? What if, as we rise up and stand firm, we also embody the tenderness and care taken to carefully prepare an altar for ancestral veneration or a sanctuary for worship?

Can we get ready?! Where are the opportunities to infuse community care into our movements and tactical meetings? How might we center loving affirmation, divine truth, and unashamed laughter as we realign expectations for ourselves and each other in our journey toward liberation? What power might we unleash if we actively plan for our victory (not just the struggle)?

If we are God’s anointed and our ancestors’ wildest dreams, then let’s get ready!

Song: Seeds by Rissi Palmer

Reflection Questions:

1. How are you preparing for and practicing a liberation that is rooted in unapologetic and unencumbered care, love, and joy?

2. What does getting ready look like for you and your people?

Call to Action:

Try offering AND receiving community care, love and joy today? (FYI: The receiving is the hard part!) Notice how this practice feels in your spirit and body? What looked and felt different?

About the Author

Adrienne M.B. Davis (she/her) is the founder and lead curator of Brown.Noise and a restorative social equity advocate, educator, and coach that is remembering collectively our ancestral strength.

Stay connected to Adrienne:

IG: @BrownNoise.Online

Website: www.brownnoise.online

These Black Lent devotionals were originally curated by IG: goodneighbormovement.

Image: "Black Joy is Liberation" by Devon Blow