Ms. Johnnie (not her real name) stopped by today. I wasn’t sure quite what to expect (you never do with Ms. Johnnie) but she wasn’t angry or agitated and seemed to be pretty calm. Ms. Johnnie knows that we cannot hand out money at Bering, so she doesn’t ask anymore. She brought her two traveling companions into my office this morning: A Bible and a Super Woman comic book. She carries each of them tucked up under her arm, and as soon as she sits down in my office she consults both of them for sacred advice.
The more I think about it, the more I like that combination.
Ms. Johnnie wanted to read me some passages from Isaiah and the Psalms about fortresses and safe places. They were already highlighted. She was on the verge of being kicked out of yet another apartment for failing to pay rent. Her Social Security would arrive in only two more days, so she was hoping that we might pray that her landlord and the sheriff’s office might be impeded in some way from tossing her stuff onto the curb.
The Psalmists were pretty good at asking God to kill their enemies, or at least maim them substantially. A good maiming was bound to teach their persecutors an important lesson. I suspect that some of Ms. Johnnie’s enemies are the things that might plague many of us; the things that dwell in us, not outside of us. In any event, we refrained from praying that her landlord might break a hip. Instead, we prayed for acceptance and peace and shelter and safety.
Ms. Jonnie also read a brief excerpt from the Super Woman comic book. I sat beside her as she showed me the illustrations and said that it would be dangerous for Super Woman to not remember that she has super powers and that she is different. Ms. Johnnie said that Super Woman always has to be very careful about understanding that she is not like everybody else.
Ms. Johnnie is transgendered.
So, this Super Woman comic book has become, in this moment, a sacred text side by side with the bible. Ms. Johnnie is not alone, and those are words of comfort.
