Martin Luther King Day 2009

Today is Martin Luther King day. Growing up, we always had this day off of school. I don't recall this day being "big" deal. It was just a day off of school.

But today January 19th 2008, Martin Luther King day seems a little more special considering what tomorrow means in American life and culture. Tomorrow Barack Obama, a half white - half African (Kenyan to be exact), will be come the 44th president of the United States. This is something that would have seemed impossible 45 years ago.

Today another thought came to me as I was watching various programs about civil rights movement. The summer I went to Senegal we spent a day at Goree Island. (This is an island off the coast where many of the West African slaves where sold and sent out to various places around the world.) While there one of the missionaries that we were with made a comment that will stick with me for a life time. They said that God used this evil for good, meaning that through this atrocity many African Americans came to know Jesus Christ as their savior in their new home- America. I had never made this connection before and I think this is something that can be pondered for a long long time.