To help kick off Black History Month, here are two bite-sized pieces of wisdom from the late, great literary genius, Maya Angelou. Like gems, these are ideas you can put in your pocket, and take them out whenever you need them :)

Gem #1:

Angelou didn’t call herself a Christian – not exactly. In an interview on the occasion of being awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, she put it this way:

“I’m always amazed when people walk up to me and say, ‘I’m a Christian.’ I think, ‘Already? You already got it?’ I’m working at it, which means that I try to be as kind and fair and generous and respectful and courteous to every human being.”

Gem #2:

In another interview, Angelou said that while she was taught to believe in God, she became courageous when she made that belief her own. “I dared to do anything that was a good thing. I dared to do things distant from what seemed to be in my future. When I was asked to do something good, I often say yes, I’ll try, yes, I’ll do my best. And part of that is believing, if God loves me, if God made everything from leaves to seals and oak trees, then what is it I can’t do?”

So in Angelou’s honor, let’s keep these gems close and remember that being Christian is always a work in progress – and that God’s creative love makes all things possible!

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