When it comes to our Sketch & Believe Girls’ Arts Program, school holidays always present an opportunity to do special events and spend some quality time with the girls. This past March Break, we gathered one afternoon to watch the Chris Rock documentary “Good Hair” – it’s all about the “complex relationship” between African Americans and their hair.
My placement student Priscilla led a discussion about the movie after we watched it. The girls had lots to say about what they had seen and shared about their own experiences, both positive and negative. We concluded our time by looking at this passage from the Psalms, the ancient prayer book of the Jewish people:
Oh yes, you shaped me first inside, then out;
you formed me in my mother’s womb.
I thank you, High God—you’re breathtaking!
Body and soul, I am marvelously made!
I worship in adoration—what a creation!
You know me inside and out,
you know every bone in my body;
You know exactly how I was made, bit by bit,
how I was sculpted from nothing into something.
Like an open book, you watched me grow from conception to birth;
all the stages of my life were spread out before you,
The days of my life all prepared
before I’d even lived one day.
In the midst of the challenges the girls face to live up to what the world tells them is attractive, we shared with them that God created each of us and He didn’t make any mistakes. So much of a young woman’s confidence is wrapped up in how others perceive and treat them.
Our program is designed to help young women discover themselves as creative beings made in the image of God and precious in His sight. We seek to build up their confidence as they succeed in discovering and developing their creative gifts. We also seek to build a safe and healthy community among them, that they might be able to care for and encourage each other.
May we remember that we are all “fearfully and wonderfully made.” // Karen R
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