At the crossroads
They say Robert Johnson, the famous bluesman, met the devil himself at a lonely dark crossroads in Mississippi. They say Johnson made a bargain with the devil, his soul in return for the ability to play “The Blues.”
Whether that story is true or not is debatable, but one thing is certain, all of us at some point in our lives will find ourselves at that same metaphorical crossroads. That crossroads is always lonely, always cold and always dark. And the devil is always there, whispering temptations. It is a place where one must reach deep inside, a place where faith and determination separate the great from the ordinary.
History provides us with numerous examples of each. On the one side we find men such as Moses and Gideon, Dragging Canoe and John Trudell, Charles de Gaulle and Mahatma Gandhi. Women such as Nancy Ward and Lozen, Ida B. Wells and Regina Brave, Joan of Arc and Wilma Mankiller. We find plenty of examples on the other side as well, from Judas Iscariot to Benedict Arnold to Phillipe Petain. We find those who stood at the crossroads and took the wrong turn.
If one has never stood at that metaphorical crossroads, it is easy to take the choice for granted. The right choice is always clear in hindsight. But it is important to remember that one never finds one’s self at that crossroads when things are going right. No, we find ourselves at that crossroads when we are at our weakest and most vulnerable, when our faith is most challenged.
Charles de Gaulle had few friends and no clear path to victory when he made the momentous decision to refuse to kneel at the alter of Nazi domination. Likewise, Jesus, the Lord Christ, was hungry and alone when scripture tells us that Satan took him to the pinnacle of the temple and offered him “all the kingdoms of the world and the glory thereof.”
While we remember and admire these great leaders, we often neglect to study them in a way which can arm us for the time when we find ourselves at that lonely crossroads. We remember the victories of these leaders, but we often fail to learn from the struggles and self-doubt they experienced along the way. There is much to be gained from the study of great leaders in the times before they became great because greatness is not preordained, rather greatness is a result of decisions taken and choices made. It is the result and the consequence of will, of determination, and in some cases, of divine inspiration.
From Dragging Canoe to Charles de Gaulle, we find the common thread of a strength of character that allowed these leaders to persevere against all odds. In Ida B. Wells and Wilma Mankiller we find a love of community and a clear vision of right action that gave these leaders the determination to withstand the personal attacks and character assassination that are always the favored tactic of sewer rat politicians. The latter being the perennial bane of great leaders.
Most of us, thankfully, will never be tried in the same crucible as these historic figures. But all of us will most certainly face our own turn at the crossroads of our own history. How we deal with these moments may or may not define our legacy, we never know until later. Because of this we must prepare ourselves with faith, with will, with the certainty of the principles we profess to hold in the less stressful times.
We are living in historical times, so the pundits tell us. Sometimes it feels as though the very ground is shifting underneath us. But regardless of the times we live in, our faith provides us our compass, and the principles we hold sacred provide us with our map. It is my hope and prayer, Dear Reader, that these will guide you when you face your own time “at the crossroads of history.”