Episode 132 :: Michelle Ami Reyes:: Stories of Becoming a Race Wise Family and Sowing Seeds of Hope-Filled Conversation in the Next Generation

Michelle Ami Reyes is a woman of many talents. She is an author, a speaker, a minister, a scholar in residence, a racial justice activist, a wife, a Mom, and one of my absolute favorite people to talk to about learning to engage in scripture and conversations about race and culture, and God’s vast heart for all image-bearers in His Kingdom. Her most recent book, The Race-Wise Family: Ten Postures to Becoming Households of Healing and Hope, she co-authored with the amazing Helen Lee. They define a race-wise family as “a family that asks God for help in unpacking racial issues and seeks His direction to know how to identify and combat racism in all its overt and subtle forms.”

This book is not a checklist, it is about pursuing God’s Word for a heart posture that cares about all people in the Kingdom of God. Then, once those postures are presented, there is so much practical application available. They’ve pooled resources, and ideas for families of varying ages, and might be the best equipping resource I have seen for engaging these big and real things for hearts of any age. There is a growing divide between the responses of black and brown and white Christians and Michelle and Helen are calling us to pull up chairs towards one another and see each other through the eyes of our Maker. It is not about who can debate better, it is about how each image bearer experiences the world and God’s heart for it in a very connected and relational way.

Since the time Michelle and I had this conversation, there have been multiple racially charged tragedies across the U.S. As I struggle to wrap my brain around what’s happened, we feel the weight of the evil in this broken world. Michelle and Helen’s book, the resources from Michelle’s website and newsletter provide such incredibly helpful tools for how to work through events like this in conversations with the children in your life. The Lord is near to all who call on Him. He can and will lead us through the dark days. We must point one another while we lament to His heart. This is not how the story ends, friends. I’m so grateful that people like Michelle and Helen are using their stories to help encourage us to keep going. Remember friend, you matter, your neighbor matters. Your stories matter.

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Connecting with Michelle:

Articles

Book (most recent!) The Race-Wise Family: Ten Postures for Becoming Households of Healing and Hope

Facebook

Free Resources from Michelle to connect with kids during a racial tragedy, coloring pages, question cards, feeling charts