By Terry Allen
When Lucille “Big Mama” Allen held her family sessions on the front porch of the wood frame home, she weaved a story of purpose and delivered a song of Definite purpose!
Oh wow! Lucille “Big Mama” Allen said, “Don’t let your rough patch prevent you from carrying out God’s plan for you.” As soon as she spoke those words, she then would add more by saying, “the best way to fight your bad time is to help some with their bad time.” She wanted me to have a better vision because she believed in Proverbs 29:18 “where there is no vision the people will perish.”
Lucille “Big Mama” Allen would give all of us permanent lessons that were unapologetic tools for living. BIG Mama challenged me to be ready and expectant for God. I had to dismiss any concerns that delayed my tap due to my desire to understand. I discovered I will miss out on many surprises, treasures, revelations, and experiences.
She read the statement that Helen Keller gave to the world, “’I cried because I had no shoes until I met a man who had no feet.”
Big Mama’s advice from her playbook simply meant – while one can always bemoan about one’s loss, situation or lack of, there is always time to focus on someone else’s misfortune or help them with their bad patch.
Big Mama said, “It means to be grateful for any situation you are in, even if it seems miserable, because someone, somewhere, is in a worse situation and doesn’t have what you are taking for granted. And you have not counted your wins at all.”
I laughed at the memory because I immediately recall telling someone bemoaning about the loads of laundry they had to wash filling up her hallway, I had to remind her of the fact she had all these clothes and a personal washer/dryer, yet there are so many others who don’t have anything more than what they are wearing with no place to wash themselves let alone the clothing they had on.
So today, in the words of Langston Hughes, I want to remind you that I have not had a life of crystal stairs! Yet in my darkest moment and my deepest despair, when I assisted others who were less fortunate, my mind stayed uplifted and my issues were less burdensome.
Now just think that with all the erosion of life liberty and the pursuit of happiness in our nation, we have taken the challenges of others and risen up.
The point is to lift your eyes to the prize! When you support another person through another valley, your valley is less worrisome. Here are two shining examples of how using your own bad times to assist others works in your favor.
- Lasting 381 days, the Montgomery Bus Boycott resulted in the Supreme Court ruling segregation on public buses unconstitutional. The revenue of the riders/purveyors of the boycott created an alternative system of support for over a year, weakening the bottom line-profits. As a result of the boycott, on June 5, 1956, a Montgomery federal court ruled that any law requiring racially segregated seating on buses violated the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
- Prevented from her own election to office, Stacey Abrams’ voter registration strategy increased voter turnout for marginal populations resulted in multi-racial, cross-movement, grassroots campaign that assisted Abrams and her allies to build an infrastructure that increased turnout among Black, Asian, Latinx, low-income and youth voter turning Red to Blue.
Democracy needs a tap on the shoulder from you to use your bad times for some “good trouble.” Let me know if you can get busy! Email me at terryallenpr@gmail.com Big Mama is watching!
Terry Allen is an NABJ award-winning Journalist, DEI expert, PR professional and founder of the charity – Vice President at FocusPR, Founder of City Men Cook and Dallas Chapter President of NBPRS.org
