WE
It’s a journey of the unknown no one can quite explain. It’s one us women walk alone… through the storm and all of God’s disasters he sends to convey his message. The message is simple, I am the way. We don’t all begin at the same time, we all have a different purpose and a different path to take, to bring the light into this dark world. We are born into bondage really, and this journey is the testament to the great power we possess, that must be awakened. The world has held us down for far too long, with its labels, laws, and ridiculous restrictions. Sure we are divided by man-made ideology, but we “women” are one in God’s eyes. We are continuously controlled and crushed by the dark ways of this world, so we must accept our journey and the harsh truths. Its not just an outward battle, but an inward one that requires psyche work-dismantling the oppression stained within us- and it will be a triumphant feat. So, when does it all begin? That depends on us and when we have had “enough”. We must not ignore the opportunities in our life that are opportunities to “do the work”. Sure most of us ignore the “signs” and continue to live life the way we want to live it. The quote goes,“ I did it my way”. But, it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s the right way. Sometimes, in order for us to truly become who we are supposed to be, we must open our minds to the possibility of “maybe my life does have a specific purpose”. Believe you must continuously reflect inward and draw from your own understanding. It is said to be true that all the answers are already inside of us, we just need to look within ourselves for the knowledge and power to overcome the evil of this world…to be victorious.
Beacon
You never really know how much you impact people until you find yourself in a situation that allows them to show you. I taught elementary school for two years before deciding to move on because honestly, people don’t raise their children nowadays. I mean, a lot of people have their kids for five years and then send them to school knowing nothing. So, I moved up to middle school and spent the rest of my career there. I figured, well, they’ve at least got some survival skills by now. They’ve made it this far, and I can work with that. I was the one who didn’t fit any mold or stereotype. Some adults didn’t like me, and it was extremely evident—but I didn’t care. I was called to Atlanta to save their children because clearly, something wasn’t right. My presence in this state had one purpose: to be a beacon of light for the students. My light is always shining—if you have eyes to see, just call out. And "calling out" is the purpose of this story.
You never know when you will face your scariest fear, so you must be prepared. You must put your fear aside and “call out to Jesus” they say, or the person you look up to most at least. Let me set the scene for you. It was a class field trip to the Dialogue in the Dark exhibit, where you experience the world as a blind person would. There were different rooms designed to simulate experiences like crossing a busy intersection, shopping in a grocery store, and ordering in a café. The first step was sitting in an interior room, where the staff gave us instructions and handed out walking canes to guide us through the experience.
Our group filled two connecting rooms, where we sat on individual lighted boxes. These glowing seats were our only light source—until they turned them off. That’s when the experience officially began. Not a moment later, I heard a student screaming my name—like bloody murder was going on. The scream came from the other room, where another class was- meaning this student wasn’t even in my class. I stood up and walked around the barrier to investigate. As I did, the other teacher walked toward me in the pitch dark, laughing, “I’ll handle her,” he whispers. But she was still hysterical, screaming, “Ms. Hansbury, I can’t do this!”
I walked back to my square, sat down, and watched as someone guided her out to the front. I was stunned—this was the student who couldn’t stand me, the one who was always rude and gave me attitude whenever she felt like it. And yet, in her moment of fear, she called out for me. Shortly after, we began our Dialogue in the Dark journey with crossing a busy intersection. As we moved forward, I noticed my students pressing closer and closer to me—practically on my back. “Guys, chill out,” I said with a light laugh to break the tension. They laughed too, and the mood shifted as I reminded them to use their walking cane.
When we completed the exhibition, we gathered to share stories and reflect on the experience. I also thought about that student and later learned that someone had taken her outside to walk it off. I couldn’t imagine what she was going through—maybe she had a fear of the dark and never told her teacher. In the end, I learned that someone is always watching even when we don’t realize it, and at the same time, we are always influencing them.
(My grade school mascot was the Beacon and I think my life has come full circle)
Whirlwind
As an educator, one of my favorite movies to show my students was the Prince of Egypt. I absolutely adore this movie, and the soundtrack just as much because you can't help but sing along. You can literally feel God through their voices. Its a reverb. For the purpose of this story, I'll highlight one aspect that involves my personal experience with The Holy Spirit. Its stated that "the Lord is always with you", but how many of us truly understand what it means? You might believe the word when it says that it lives within you, or that we are led by it. To be honest, I know that it is both- and all around us. The best way to explain what the Holy Spirit was to my students was the part of the movie when the Holy Spirit actually descends to the earth to kill the male first born sons. You might also ask, how would I know? Well, let's just say I had an experience that allowed me to witness the power God and his promises kept. During this time I was living in a home I had purchased and working just like everyday Americans do. What made me different was the disdain people had for me for simply being a good person and a child of God. I learned that these people want to corrupt as many people as possible, especially children. I have a light that attracts the worst creatures. I think its unique to the city I live in though. There are some pretty wicked things that go on here. Now, I can't say for sure if anything was after me. If so, it had to be on the highest level of wicked for the Holy Spirit to reveal itself to me. Or, was something else going on? I had finished my day, got home, did all the routine things, and went to bed. Not too long into my sleep, was I awakened. But, I couldn't move. I was laying on my back and opened my eyes only for a moment to see a whirl of wind literally in my bedroom, and it was moving really fast. It looked exactly like the one in the movie. And I still did not have control over my body. That moment allowed me to see God in action, but then I was put back to sleep. My head was pushed down with the most care and I went back to sleep. I didn't wake up until morning. Needless to say, I felt different after this experience. It was the best sleep ever knowing that if no human had my back, God did!