There’s a scene in the film version of Alice Walker’s “The Color Purple” where Celie spots Miss Sofia in the general store. At this point in the movie, Sofia has had her body and spirit broken by the white mayor and his wife. In addition to the general wear-and-tear of life, Sofia carries the wear-and-tear of racism and sexism. She is blind in one eye and sort of drags one leg behind her.
At this point in the film, Sofia is working as a maid for Millie (the mayor’s wife). Upon the two of them entering the store, Millie rattles off a list of items that she wants and expects Sofia to gather them up quickly – despite being blind in one eye and dragging a leg as she walks. Sofia stands in the middle of an aisle, looking absolutely beat down. Celie quietly walks up, takes the shopping list from her and quickly gathers all of the items.
Some time later, when Sofia is reunited with family and friends, she recounts this moment around the Thanksgiving dinner table. (Side note: This is one of my absolute favorite scenes in the movie!) Sofia says, “I was feelin real down, I was feelin mighty bad . . . And when I see’d you, I know’d there is a God . . . and one day I was gon get to come home.”
I was watching this scene earlier this week, and something stood out to me when Sofia said, “I know’d there is a God.” A seemingly insignificant act by Celie (gathering groceries) was the exact thing that Sofia needed to pull her from a pit of despair. It was a reminder to me not to ignore the small promptings to do something seemingly insignificant like send a note, offer a hug, give a candy bar, etc. Just as we never know when we are entertaining angels, we never know when God is using us to be an angel.
So listen to the promptings of the Spirit. Then “go and do likewise.”
(P.S. You may have noticed that I didn’t provide a synopsis of the film. That was intentional.)