Her name was Angela

Her name was Angela, at least that was the name she was given, the name on the plaque I read carefully in the hot Jamestown sun. Jamestown was the first permanent English settlement on the coast of Virginia in the early 1600's. I recently took my kids on vacation there for the last week of summer break. It turns out, my kids hate history, but love Busch Gardens. Who knew? I on the other hand, found myself captivated by the place, especially the story I learned about the life of "Angela."

She was one of the first Africans to arrive in English America. Her life there wasn't easy, her journey to even arrive, was just as sad and brutal. She was just one of thousands of Africans captured in Angola by the Portuguese. In 1619 she was placed on a slave ship bound for Veracruz on the coast of Mexico. The ship never arrived. The slave ship Angela was on, was attacked by two English ships in the Gulf of Mexico and plundered of 60 "human cargo." Angela was one of twenty-nine Africans put on board yet another ship. Eventually, Angela made it to the James River some months later.

By 1625, Angela was living in the household of the wealthy, Captain William Pierce in Jamestown. I read the following line no fewer than 5 times on the plaque bearing Angela's name, "Angela survived bloody wars in her home country, the horror of an Atlantic crossing in a slave ship, and a fierce sea battle on the high seas." At first, its hard to wrap your mind around the horrific life Angela endured. Notice I didn't say the life she "lived," because when you go through the things Angela went through, her life must have felt like a battle of endurance and perseverance rather than living.

Some of the stories at Jamestown and Williamsburg were so bad, the tour guides warned me against subjecting my kids to the mature material they would see and hear there. However, my kids need to know. They need to know about Angela. They need to know about the woman who survived and contributed to a rich and diverse cultural heritage in a country I'm proud to call home.

I guess after learning about our country's early history and stories like the one above, you could feel sadness or maybe even anger. I get it, I do. For me however, it was a lesson in the human condition. Like Angela, we are all stronger than we give ourselves credit for. We are far more equipped to handle the horrors that life and others throw at us than we realize. Also, it reminded me to be mindful of the often unseen and unknown hell others have endured in their life. Angela reminded me that we meet people today, without fully understanding or appreciating their yesterdays. How many people met Angela in early Jamestown, completely unaware of her past? How many ever dared or cared to know?

Author Malcolm Gladwell once wrote about "desired difficulties." That although we like an easy life without hardships and tribulations, that we should wish for ourselves difficulties that cause us to grow, mature, and be stronger. It sounds counterintuitive at first, but I think he's on to something. In 2nd Corinthians, Paul boasts about his sufferings and his weaknesses. You read that correctly, he "boasted." In 2 Corinthians 12:9 we read, "But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me."

In hardships and weaknesses we grow in faith. God's love and grace is indeed sufficient. So the next time you are facing difficulties and you are feeling weak and ill equipped to endure, to persevere, remember the power of Christ that rests on you. Remember a wonderful and beautiful child of God, and the life she endured boldly and fearlessly...her name was Angela.

Much Love, Adam