Maya Angelou (1928-2014) was an American memoirist and poet. She published seven autobiographies, three books of essays, several books of poetry as well as a list of plays, movies, and television shows spanning over 50 years.
She was an active member of Glide Memorial United Methodist Church in San Francisco before her death. She wrote that when she first came to San Francisco as a young woman she became sophisticated. She said that was what you were supposed to do when you go to San Francisco, you become sophisticated.
And for that reason she said she became agnostic. She thought the two went together. She said that it wasn’t that she stopped believing in God, just that God no longer frequented the neighborhoods that she frequented.
She was taking voice lessons at the time. Her teacher gave her an exercise where she was to read out of some religious pamphlets. The reading ended with these words: “God loves me.” She finished the reading and put the pamphlet down. The teacher said, “I want you to read that last sentence again.”
So she picked it up, read it again, this time somewhat sarcastically, then put it down again. The teacher said, “Read it again.” She read it again. Then she described what happened. “After about the seventh repetition I began to sense there might be some truth in this statement. That there was a possibility that God really loves me, Maya Angelou.
“I suddenly began to cry at the grandness of it all. I knew if God loved me, I could do wonderful things. I could do great things. I could learn anything. I could achieve anything. For what could stand against me with God, since one person, any person, with God form a majority now.”
Thanks to Mark Trotter for sharing
How often do YOU repeat to yourself, “GOD LOVES ME?”
SOMETIMES LIFE HAS A TENDENCY TO WIPE AWAY A SMILE. GOD HAS A TENDENCY TO KEEP YOU SMILING!!
