Stranger Grace

Do you remember past skirmishes of border wars between dreams and reality? Dreams too real to be dismissed as subconscious doodling or debris; realities too strange and elusive to be sensual or concrete. We've all been there.
Such was the case when I read a biography of Sojourner Truth. She was an escaped slave who was very active and influential in the American abolitionist movement of the 1800's. She was also a Christian.

Tall, dark, thin and muscular, she possessed a formidable mind and spirit. She chose a name with the same eloquence that a lyricist might pluck a harp. It was not uncommon for a former slave to adopt their master's surname. Though she served a number of people, this woman considered Truth to be her only true Master, true home and ultimate destination.
The common name she chose for herself expressed her identity, purpose, philosophy and coping style; Sojourner. Her name was her mission statement. She was the quintessential 'temp worker'--just passin' through. Passing through trouble, passing through sorrow and passing through oppression. She considered herself, like father Abraham, a stranger in a strange land.

I wanted to learn more about her because she had something I want; constant communion with God. She developed a deep, intimate relationship with her Maker because her one response was to run to Him. He presided over her every thought. She included Him in every conversation. Consequently, this uneducated woman became uncommonly wise. This humble ex-slave became inexplicably bold and confident.
I began to wonder what it would be like to be Sojourner Truth, not then but now. Since the word 'sojourn' is considered archaic and archaicisms are more frowned upon that left-overs, I would be called Stranger: Stranger Truth.

I tried to picture the name on my driver's licence. What would the police say, should I be pulled over? "Ms. Truth, do you know why I stopped you?" Maybe they would just call me Stranger. "O.K. Stranger, I'm going to issue you a warning. But get that tail light fixed immediately." Can you imagine your friends and family calling you Stranger?
When my husband came home, I told him I was considering changing my name. We've been married for sixteen years, but he still considers me a wild ride. You'd think once a guy came home to a missing porch, me with blue hair or a call from the local mosque asking to speak with his wife, he'd be ready for anything. I still manage to catch him by surprise.

As usual, I had some 'splainin' to do. My son looked on as I filled my husband's ear with Stranger Truth. I expounded upon how truly strange Truth is to this world of ours. In fact, not all of us even recognize Truth when it comes our way. Maybe because we've encountered too much quasi-truth. They say that bank tellers can easily recognize counterfeit dollars only because they're so familiar with the real thing.
My son was about ten or eleven at the time. Stranger Truth ambled through his young mind as he lay sleeping. He had two dreams. In the first dream, some soldiers with guns entered a dwelling and demanded that the people there, of which he was one, denounce Christ. He recounted how one boy was so frightened that he complied with the soldier's request. They shot everyone anyway and torched the place.
His dad and I were with him in the second dream. We had joined a meeting in someone's home. Again, soldiers with guns came in. This time a woman came in with them. She wore a purple suit dress and had fair hair, but her face was oddly fierce. Her name was Grace: Stranger Grace.
Amid the resulting commotion and confusion, he perceived that her behavior was fierce as well. She had great authority, even over the soldiers. One by one, we were put to the test. As we prepared to die, it seemed that we would receive no help from Stranger Grace. In fact, is was she who asked the fateful question. But after we confessed Christ, Stranger Grace and the soldiers led us out, up a path and through a gate. Our car was waiting on the highway.
Stranger Truth taught my son that Grace often enters with adversity and that we don't easily recognize Grace but she always make herself known to the faithful in the end:

Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony, and they loved not their lives unto the death. (Revelation 12:10-11)