The Local Take has done a series of COVID19 stories starting in March with the shutdown. We have included spiritual conversations as part of this. This week as 2020 draws to a close, I asked Rev. T. Renee Crutcher to join us. She is the Founder/CEO/Spiritual and Creative Director at Sankofa Ministries & Tellin' Our Story Publishing, Inc.
I wanted to talk to her about having "faith in the valley." This year has been anything but normal, and many of us have felt overwhelmed and even depressed. I wanted to talk about keeping the faith.
I asked Rev. Crutcher about her family. She is the primary caregiver for her 86 year old mother.
This has been such a crazy year. Even though time is moving, some are still stuck in the springtime when the shutdown commenced. With the best of intentions to exercise, clean, cook, spend quality time with family members, and bake sourdough bread, most of us have hit a wall at some point. I'm aware of when I'm falling into a slight depression and know what I need to do to center myself. But, at the end of this year, even knowing what to do, I've been resistant. I can't imagine what this year has been like for community member with real challenges.
I asked Rev. Crutcher how we can change our focus when that little voice tells us to give up or that it's too much? How can we take control of those thoughts? Rev. Crutcher mentions that in our culture, productivity has to result in something tangible to be valuable. Sometimes it is productive to do nothing, even if it is for more than one day. That time can also be productive for our spirits.
I ask her about her mother and how many of us live in multi-generational homes for the first time in years. Kids are home from school. Parents are home from work, and many seniors became part of the family pod.
Rev. Crutcher sometimes shares stories about her mother on her social media post. I ask if she could tell us about her life. She speaks to her mother growing up in an agrarian community in Washington, GA. This was during the Jim Crow era. Her mother was the 18th of 20 children. They lived on the family farm and helped their neighbors. She called those of her mother's time "The silent generation" they have few expectations but lived with dignity.
I asked Rev. Crutcher to give us a little nourishment beyond the wise words she has already shared to close our conversation. She spoke about Psalms 46:10 "Be Still And Know That I Am God."
Happy New Year to You and Yours from WCLK's The Local Take.
For more information on Rev. T. Renee Crutcher