Last night as I was surfing the channels of the TV looking
for something to watch before falling asleep, I came across a documentary on
the life of Richard Pryor. His story pulled me in and what I saw was a man that
has lived the “American Dream.” He grew up in a brothel under the care of his
grandmother. His childhood was a hellish nightmare and when he reached
adulthood he used humor to keep the demons of his past at bay. This led him to
a very lucrative career as a stand-up comedian and as an actor. Richard’s humor
was laced with much vulgarity and he often used the word “nigger” in his act.
He was a classic example of someone that was laughing on the outside and crying
on the inside. After achieving much success and becoming rich and famous his
life began to crumble and in his despair he tried to take his life by setting
himself on fire. Amazingly, he survived and this is when his life took a turn
for the better. He began to take a deeper look at his life and for the first
time discover who he truly was. A friend encouraged him to take a trip to
Africa and this experience changed him. He saw dignity in the people of Africa
and in turn found dignity in himself. Richard made the decision to never use
the word “nigger” again to make people laugh.
When we take the time to look at our lives we discover that
each of us is made in the image of God and that we are of high value. Sadly,
this is not the message that we hear from many of our life experiences. There
are far too many people in our world that have suffered from abuse and trauma
that have left them laughing on the outside and crying on the inside. I am
thankful for a God who sees us, hears us and has a desire to walk with us in
our suffering. I know that God brings healing to the brokenhearted and new life
to those who seek it. I have been touched and healed by God myself and I have also
witnessed this healing in the lives of many others as a Spiritual Director.
Richard Pryor found new life because he had the courage to look at his own
life and change his mind about
himself and how he related to his world.
Do you know who you are?
Ask, Seek, Knock
“Ask and it
will be given to you; seek and
you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks
finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.
