Hannah and I just returned from visiting our dear friend, Ms. Justina. I've written about her before, if you've been following my blog. We try to visit her once a week, but sometimes things get busy and it is harder to make it over to see her. It had been a couple weeks since I had been, so I wanted to make a point of visiting this week. I'm always so glad after I sit and talk with her for even a few moments.
Ms. Justina is 80 years old, and she has several medical issues that she is fighting against. However, her mind is quite sharp and she has an excellent memory. She always remembers that I am the one who is getting married (as she reminds me by asking about my husband-to-be!). Today she shared with us several stories from her childhood, stories that reminded me of the reality of racism that people living today have experienced. She said to us a few times, "You see, I caught the end of slavery."
She told us about working with her mother on a few different plantations. One of the white women they worked for was very kind and would give them food and clothing and would let them eat at her table with her (but only when her husband and sons were not around). Ms. Justina and her mother would clean the woman's home and wash all of the clothes, and they would get paid fifty cents for the whole day's work. This was in the 1930's. When I just did some research, I found that in 1938 a mandatory federal minimum wage was established at 25 cents an hour. Clearly Ms. Justina and her family were not included in that "mandatory" pay rate. Still, as she told us these stories, she showed great peace and optimism, explaining the things that could be bought with fifty cents in those days.
Ms. Justina also told us some terrible stories. One man whose plantation they lived on attempted to convince her mother to essentially sell her (she was thirteen at the time) to him in exchange for a nicer house and free things from his store whenever they wanted. Fortunately, Ms. Justina's mother refused and they moved away soon after that. The man reminded her mother that if it were in an earlier time, he could have taken her daughter anyway, even if she refused. He also reminded them that in an earlier time, they wouldn't have been allowed to move off of his plantation.
The worst story that Ms. Justina could remember from her childhood, she shared with us. She told us about a little black boy who went into a store to buy something. The white woman who was taking his money flew into an outrage when he accidentally touched her hand as he gave her the money. White people proceeded to hang him from a tree and beat him to death.
There are some things that just don't feel real until you hear them from someone who experienced them firsthand. Hannah and I sat in horror and amazement as we listened to these stories. Hannah asked, "Do you ever feel angry about these things that happened?" And Ms. Justina replied, "Oh no, I've let it all go. I've given it all up to God. If I didn't, I would be so bitter."
We can learn so much from sitting and listening to the stories of those who have gone before us. I learn this more and more every time I sit and talk with Ms. Justina. Please join me in praying for her, as she continues to struggle with many health issues. But thank God also for her beautiful heart and her incredible faith.
"God is good all the time. He really is."
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