1753-1784

“On being brought from Africa to America.  

 ‘TWAS mercy brought me from my Pagan land,   
Taught my benighted soul to understand   
That there’s a God, that there’s a Saviour too:   
Once I redemption neither fought now knew,   
Some view our sable race with scornful eye,   
“Their colour is a diabolic die.”   
Remember, Christians, Negroes, black as Cain,   
May be refin’d, and join th’ angelic train.”
– Phillis Wheatley, Poems on various subjects, religious and moral (free on Amazon Kindle).

This young woman was a poet and a slave in Boston in a time when it was thought the color of your skin determined your intellect. She had to prove her poetry was her own. She followed her inclinations and talents and cracked the door for others to follow in her steps. She realized that, though slavery was a horrible thing, God used her circumstances to bring her to Him. And then of course He used her to be a brick in the long road to freedom and equality.

Michelle Derusha presents a more thorough and nuanced account of Phillis Wheatley’s work and life in her recent book: 50 Women Every Christian Should Know: Learning from Heroines of the Faith. And you should read it. I recieved a review copy from Baker Books and I have been loving it so far. I will post a formal review when I have finished it, but I can definitely recommend it already.

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How do you see God working through the bad things in your life?

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