Beloved

Toni Morrison is one of my favorite authors. Though most of her books have a special place in my heart, one in particular – Beloved – came to mind recently. It was turned into a movie starring Oprah Winfrey and Danny Glover where a woman is haunted by the spirit of her murdered daughter (general synopsis). I never saw the movie, but that’s typical for me. Once I read the book, I never watch the movie…it’s just not as good. In any case, as I reflect on this timeless story, I can’t help but draw parallels to my own haunting.

Yes, I said, haunting. We are all haunted by something. It may not be a ghost or apparition, but some cloud of shame, guilt, or dissonance lurking in our hearts somewhere. Whatever it may be, there are some unresolved issues we never manage to face that enervate our ability to move forward. We think everything is copacetic. We believe we have prospered, yet our prosperity feels dampened by the thickness of a wound that just won’t heal. This is the story of Beloved.

If the truth were visualized, we would live in a community of mummified living beings. We have scares so severe, so deep; it’s as if someone cut out the heart, pulled out the brain and innards as a trophy to their conquest named you, me, and us. And every day we live, we feel them missing. We feel the emptiness inside…as if we are not worth more than our prosperity (or lack thereof). This should not be so. If we really look into the purest meaning of the Beloved story, we will find that there was love on both sides. The daughter was loved by the mother. But the mother was also loved. Though, the haunting was by a beloved, cherished daughter; it was love that also eventually saved the mother.

While it’s always those who we love the most who hurt us the worst, we tend to forget the second part to the beloved piece. We are beloved as well and it can save us from a world of disaster. Though we’ve been hurt, and have hurt others (as we are no ways innocent), we are still loved. No vexation should ever deny us that right: to love and be loved. So I get it now. I am loved and deserved to be loved with all of my faults – past, present, and future. And guess what…so do you!! We just need to embrace it…like light out of darkness; and peace out of war. We were made by, for, and with love. And remember…“You are your best thing.” Toni Morrison

 Define yourself radically as one beloved by God. This is the true self. Every other identity is illusion. ~Brennan Manning