Me: A Reconciliation Person

While going through my resume and contemplating my history, I find it amazing that I am a reconciliation person. Why me? It's a question that I've often posed for a number of reasons.

1) It's hard.

2) It is a complete oxymoron given my history...a reality that I would like to unpack here on my blog because I have found it to be extremely significant.

The blood in my veins can be traced back to the English throne through the daughter of a Plantagenet King. The family remained in the good graces of the English Court until the Elizabethan Era. For unknown reasons, the Woodlief family lost credibility and respect at Court due to the suspicion that they were involved in the murder of Shakespeare's rival Christopher Marlowe. One of the sons, I think it was the youngest, John Woodlief joined a joint stock company and served as Captain to settlers who would make their home at what is now Berkely Plantation in Virginia. It was there that the official first Thanksgiving took place in 1619. Due to some sort of squabble, John crossed over the James River away from the rest of the settlers. This decision saved his life as an Indian attack destroyed the settlement. John eventually made his way from the James River to the Tar River area in North Carolina and my line of the family never moved until my my Dad married my Mom.

The Tar River family did well for themselves and were prominent members of the community. Yet that particular section of NC experienced some of the worst cases of racism and violence definatley in the state, if not also ranked in the South. I can only imagine that my family members were not involved in some of this activity. The area was a KKK hotbed in both the 19th and 20th Century editions of the group. They also created the first Confederate flag.

In the 20th Century, my Grandfather was the Superintendent in charge of integration. Just as my family has perhaps had for years, I never knew a day at my Grandparents house without hired help for the cooking, chores, and gardening. I also grew up with a black nanny. And until the past year, I have always had a cleaning lady to take care of the house.

As part of the "elite" of my small hometown, we were invited to take part in etiquette, cotillion, and debutante balls. We were afforded opportunities to socialize with the "right" people. We traveled around the world for pleasure. Granted, this cannot define my entire history because as you will soon see in later posts, that I also was able to experience quite the opposite--though never feeling that I truly belonged to either extreme.

But as far as racial or class reconciliation goes, I am the most likely/unlikely choice to be a reconciliation person.

How ironic that I would be chosen! I have extreme power in my priveledged life. And to find myself called to advocate for those who do not have those priviledges and to truly reconcile and live life with those people only points to the work of Reconciliation that God has already done for us in Christ. To mirror this truth is why I believe I was chosen.

"Jesus did not regard equality with God something to be grasped (or held on to), but emptied Himself, taking the form of a slave in human flesh...He humbled himself obediently to the point of death, even death on a cross" to reconcile us back to God.

I have power that is not to be held tightly or taken lightly, but to be emptied for the sake of reconciliation. 2 Corinthians 5 tells us that we pursue our neighbor and the things of heaven because Jesus has reconciled us to heaven through his cross and resurrection. He was the first to cross the ultimate cross-cultural divide (from immortality to mortality and then back) so that we would be restored to God, ourselves, creation and our neighbor.

To be a person of reconciliation must take this into account. If not, we abuse each other and are tempted to grasp tightly to our stuff.

So truly, my journey in reconciliation is not about me, but it is about what Christ has already done. I am just baffled and excited and humbled to see that this passage rings so true for me that I have been chosen for this purpose.