The Help

I am currently reading The Help- I try to stay away from great books as everything else gets pushed to the side and I have no ability to read a good book slowly. So the last few days I have spent many hours reading and staying up way too late. I love the way the author writes an amazing story-- one that touches my heart. Having lived in the south and then moved further north to a very isolated area ( i am not sure I can in contact with many people whose lives were really different from mine on economic, social and other levels) I realized how much I had changed as a person. I have isolated myself off in many ways from people who are a different race or in a different social class from myself. After college I worked as a social worker and must say this was one of the hardest times and also one of the most fullfilling- it caused me to stop and look at things from a perspective other than my own. I had to realize that people had struggles I could not even comprehend and also immense joy and faith through those struggles. The book brought back a rush of memories- of people who had touched my life both in positive and negative ways- I could idenitfy with one of the characters as I had clients in "black" side of town and for the first time in my life was the minority when I would visit them. Anyway- today I was really challenged with my life- how I spend my time and who I place value in- do I take time to get to know people or do I make snap decisions about people based on the color of their skin or the money in their pocketbook- the more eyeopening fact was that I was not taking much time to invest in anyone lately- overwhelmed by my own busyness and agenda I have missed many people that God has placed on my path- moreover I have missed an opportunity to show my children that God reaches all of his children, desires to prosper and give all of his children a hope and a future. So thank you to the author of The Help- for a great book that reminds me of the little ways I dismiss people in my life.