Butterflies, Rainbows, and Unicorns

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This is my beautiful boy Isaiah. As he and his sisters were growing up, we struggled to know how to prepare them for a world that would not always be fair or kind to them because of their brown skin. We struggled because we did not want them to carry resentment because of it. We didn’t want them to carry that burden of knowledge. We wanted to keep them in a beautiful bubble of butterflies, rainbows, and unicorns. Somehow, growing up Isaiah managed to self-quarantine in that bubble. He never saw differences between people. When he was in 3rd grade or so. We were talking after school one day about heritage. I mentioned something about being African American. He had a look of shock on his face and said, “What? I am African American?!” Then he jumped up and said, “I’ll be right back! I have to go tell my teacher!” We died laughing. Seriously? How could he not know? Self-quarantine. When he was older and in high school. I tried to explain how some people treat others because of their skin color. Like I said earlier, we never wanted to create any kind of resentment in our kids, so I tread lightly. I just wanted him to be aware and prepared. Thankfully, he had never dealt with racism before. He became very upset with me and told me to stop talking about people that way. He told me I was wrong, and that people aren’t like that. Though I was thankful for his innocent heart, I worried about a time I knew would come, when that heart would break. It came close his sophomore year of high school, when a very angry boy, called him the N-word. However, he had such a beautiful reaction to it. He knew the boy had deeper issues and prayed for him. Self-quarantine. Then came the racial unrest of 2020. His bubble burst. He finally saw what we tried to protect him from for so long. I don’t think I had ever seen him so sad. Today, though he has a clearer view, he strives to continue loving everyone around him, rejecting stereotypes, and being the example of what we all hope for our children, as well as ourselves. He chooses to love. “Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. . ..” ‭‭Leviticus‬ ‭19:18‬


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