another brown skin girl

their words stepping on us forcing a response

I set a chair for sister
but sister was just rude

she looked at me and said
why can’t I sit over there?
the words came out as question
but that tone would step on you in six-inch heels

her eyes saying
I’m paying for this, so I get what I want

I said, well, sister
I’ll get you the place you want
not just here—physically

We’re going to pray over this second,
because it seems like something
is making you see people
who set the table for you
as less than

the baggage you carried into the room
I’m not taking that home with me
won’t crack into conversations with 
my family and friends later on

I said,
“God, You see sister, right?”
that’s a battle I’m taking up with You
because there’s no way
me speaking up in that moment
would de-escalate the situation

Someone told me,
“She didn’t have to be rude.”

my response, I have peace and joy
and Her rudeness is a prayer request
Because who else would intercede
in that moment?

I was the only witness
the one who took the word-slap too

and real strength wears a mask
that often looks like weakness
mistaking loudness for voice
if I don’t look beneath the surface

would I speak up because I wanted to,
or because I had to put her in her place?

but who said I had to react
and address a child
who hasn’t learned
how to interact with adults yet?

we talk about matching people’s energy
but reacting means
they’re actually controlling us
their words stepping on us
forcing a response

yet who am I to even confront her 
in that moment
as if I'm the mature one?
haven't I been in her chair before?

these days, these battles
I fight them on my knees 
even when some will tell me
you need to vent this to someone
you need to prove your point

but I ask
really, what’s the whole point?

I’d just be fighting cracks 
that have their own lives
when the only One who can seal them
is found at the altar?

oh, my sister.

how I pray for you
may God cover you from your head
to your toes
may He you peace and joy
despite what you're carrying

and still I hope
that one day you’ll come face to face
with yourself
and realize I’m another brown skin girl
just like you.

---

Heart Call:

If we assume people hurt us because they want to, we miss the bigger picture. Most of the time, people are acting out of the cracks in their own lives—and those cracks spill outward. They project. And it lands on you.

What’s humbling is realizing I’ve done this too. I’m not spotless. And that perspective helps me step back and see this isn’t actually about me. It has more to do with their wounds.

• What is your first response when someone hurts you or disrupts your peace?
  Do you react, rehearse it, or run to unload it?

• What would it look like to pause and take it up with God first—before taking it to anyone else?

“Pour out your hearts before Him, for God is our refuge.” — Psalm 62:8

Because when we rush to retell the story, we sometimes freeze people in one moment.
So maybe the real question is this:

• When things don’t go the way you imagined, what is God trying to teach you right here?

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Photo Credits: Phillippe Mari.