Reddish and snowy egrets weathering the oil spill together, photographed June 12, 2010, Dauphin Island

Today I was told, “This oil spill’s going to last for the rest of our lives.” Hopefully not, but one thing’s for sure, the human family has storms enough coming and brewing now to fill our lifetimes. “Constant vigilance!” as Mad-eye Moody vowed needs to be our motto too. In the last blog entry, I spoke of encouragement. But right now southerly winds are pushing the oil toward the Gulf beaches. Hurricane season is beginning with the warmest waters on record ready to fuel the cyclones. The economy worldwide is in disarray. So, ultimately, encouragement needs deeper roots.

That’s why, right now I’m humming African American spirituals which helped sustain deep encouragement in the midst of great trouble. “Sometimes I feel like a motherless chile …” “Nobody knows the trouble I’ve seen …”

The spirituals proclaimed a firm, rebellious hope as well. “Trouble Don’t Last for Always …” “Don’t let nobody turn you ’round!” And later, “Don’t let segregation turn you ’round!” Today, let’s say together, “Don’t let no oil spill turn you ’round!” Today, like before, for all our problems, let it be a hope held inside. A hope held in common. The spirituals did not offer a quick fix, but an intergenerational hope passed from the old to the young, from parents to children, from friends to friends. A hope engraved in hearts by generous service. A hope sustained by the winds of the Spirit.