author: Kathryn Stockett

genre: fiction

 I finished this novel about a week ago but am just now writing this review because I needed to mull it over a bit.  I definitely recommend this book; I enjoyed reading it.  But you need to know–it really made me think.  My mom recommended it to me.  She told me it was important, a glimpse into the world she grew up in, and so even though most of what she reads is the fictional equivalent of cotton candy, I decided to give this a try.  Let me assure you–cotton candy it is not!

 So, about Ms. Stockett’s novel.  Set in 1960 era Jackson, Mississippi, it chronicles the lives of three women as they attempt to radically buck the system, however covertly they may be going about it.  If you have never lived in a truly Southern city, and ladies, I’m here to tell you that if you have lived in Texas your whole life, you probably have not experienced such a place, then let me tell you about “the system” to which I am referring.  When my husband and I moved to Memphis in 2001, we felt like we had stepped back in time at least 30 years.  The racial prejudice is literally tangible, and the gap between the “haves” and “have-nots” is unbelievably large.  The often-ugly history of the Civil Rights Movement played out in places like Jackson and Memphis, and even though many wonderful people strive everyday to overcome the scars left from centuries of hatred, those wounds run deep.  Stockett doesn’t shy away from allowing us to see the brutal reality of segregation, Jim Crow and all the other painful truths propagated in a society that believes “separate but equal” is gospel. 

 Having said that, she also gives us the beauty, humor and love of female friendship found in the unlikeliest of places.  We watch these three women as they maneuver and survive despite living in a world that gave them very little room to breathe. I marveled at Stockett’s ability to make me truly care about these women, feel like I knew them, and desperately hope that their efforts and risks would not be in vain.  They grapple with racism, classicism, misogyny, and Hilly—one of the meanest women ever recorded in fiction (seriously, she is a piece of work!). 

 When I finished reading page 451, I was sad to be done with these lively, brave, beautiful women.  I now understand why this novel has been on the bestseller list since it arrived in bookstores—it is simply that good.  It deserves all the accolades.  It was worth my time, energy, and tears.  I am better for having read it.

“Jesus wept.” John 11:35

This is the shortest verse in the Bible, yet so profound. “Jesus wept.” We so often think of Jesus as just God, someone we can’t really relate to or who can’t relate to us. And we often forget that while He was every bit of God in the flesh, He was also a man. Just like you and me. He faced every emotion, every temptation, every evil, every triumph that we face as humans. (The difference is that He never sinned.) And yes, Jesus wept. Just like you and me. He shed tears over the death of His dear friend Lazarus. He probably not only wept because He had lost a dear friend on this earth, but for the sadness and mourning of Lazarus’ family and friends. I challenge you to go back and read chapter 11 of John for yourself and see how Jesus truly experienced human emotion.

Last Monday, 4 boys from Boerne we killed in a car accident. One of these boys was on my husband’s football team. The morning after the accident, I was attending a field trip with my 5 year old son to Sea World. I knew that many would be asking me about the accident so I decided to sit down with him that morning to tell him what had happened. When I told him of the accident and that Marcus (whom he knew from the team) had died, his very first response was, “Mom, did all those boys know Jesus?” My eyes filled with tears as I realized that my 5 year old son really grasped what that meant. I had to answer with, “I don’t know. I hope so.”

If someone asked you today about your own salvation or that of someone you know, love, or are in daily contact with, what would be your response? Do you know? Today we wept and mourned for and with the family of 3 boys who died very young. My prayer is that God uses this for His glory and will bring so many to Himself that may have never heard the story of the Cross. I pray that there is a new urgency to life, to telling everyone we know about Jesus’ love for them and His desire to be in relationship with them. Life is short. You may never have another chance. You never know when your last encounter with that friend, coworker, loved one may be! Jesus weeps for a relationship with each one of us. He wants to be our closest friend, big brother, almighty Savior. Will you come to Him and bring all your loved ones with you?

Dear Jesus, we pray fervently for all of the mourning souls in this small town. We pray for a new urgency in life, for a renewed sense of why we are here. We thank you for weeping over us, for desiring to know each one of us. Thank you for conquering the grave so that we may have eternal life with You. We pray for boldness and courage to tell everyone we know about what You have done for us. We pray that you will be near to those who mourn and that they would lean hard into You. Amen.

“Then He poured water into the basin, and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded. So He came to Simon Peter. He said to Him, ‘Lord, do You wash my feet?’ Jesus answered and said to him, ‘What I do you not realize now, but you will understand hereafter.’ Peter said to Him, ‘Never shall You wash my feet!’ Jesus answered him, ‘If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me.’”
John 13:5-8

With the recent celebration of Easter and Christ’s resurrection fresh on my mind, I am called to examine my inner cleanliness. Not to mention that it is officially “flip flop” season in the Hill Country and my feet are dirty! If someone asked me on a given day of this week or last to wash my feet, I would say “NO WAY!” They are dirty.
All too often this is our response to Jesus, just as Simon Peter responded. He wasn’t about to allow Jesus, of all people, to wash his nasty dirty feet. This was something a lowly servant was supposed to do. This was only one demonstration of Jesus’ selfless service to the people. Our feet, just as the disciples, are often (especially in flip flop season) the dirtiest parts of our bodies. If Jesus were to ask to wash our face or our arm, we’d be okay with that because it’s not that dirty. Right? What are the deepest darkest dirtiest places in your life and in your heart that you don’t even want Christ to see or touch? Are you trying to hide them from Him? He sees it anyway. He can see your dirty feet. And you know what? He wants more than anything for you to let Him wash them. His death on the cross and now His resurrected life living in and through us calls for us to allow Him to wash every part of our bodies. Even the dirtiest ones. Allow Him to wash your feet so you may be clean and pure of heart in order to carry the good works He has set forth for you.

Jesus, thank you for loving us so much that you would wash even the dirtiest parts of our life and make them clean. Thank you for emptying Yourself on the cross so that we may be continually cleansed. And Lord, if there are parts of us that are unclean that we are unaware of, we pray that You would bring those to light so that they too may be washed clean. And Jesus, give us the courage and willingness to allow You to clean out the closets of our hearts so that we may more clearly carry out Your will for our lives. Amen.