Generosity of the Human Spirit: Finding Strength in Forgiveness and Faith

1180 Words3 Pages

In “Out of the Dust,” a story told by 14-year-old Billie Jo, she describes her grief and feelings of lost hope including guilt from the accidental death of her mother and her mother’s unborn child. The accident crushed Billie Jo’s hope and her spirit, as well her father’s. It is a story of remarkable struggle where Billie Jo tries to find inner strength. She seeks the light through the Oklahoma “dust”. The “dust” is symbolic as it signifies a lack of life, dreams, and hope. Billie Jo takes the reader through her emotional of the journey that evokes compassion and empathy. The reader becomes part of the story and part of Billie Jo’s persona. Her journey embraces whom we are in the most profound sense of sadness and loss of her beloved mother. The story also guides us through the powerful enlightenment that defines the clearest explanation of the human spirit. In “Out of the Dust” Billie Jo demonstrates the power of forgiveness in herself and her father. These acts of forgiveness allowed her to move past the darkness and into the light. Her story gives the reader details on how the human spirit is philanthropic by nature and a lifelong process. “Out of the Dust” captures the essence of forgiveness including the transformations that occur during the process. The word ‘philanthropic’ is such a broad term. It cannot be defined in simple terms because it is a complicated interrelationship of many components. Those components include hope, humanity, compassion, faith, and an intense truth, especially of the human spirit. It can be said that philanthropy is a methodical plan of sincere intentions on making the world a better place for the better good. My belief is that the human spirit can endure what the mind cannot. Strength of the h... ... middle of paper ... ...r how she really felt. Truth is the assembly of faith and hope. Truth in humanity without forgiveness is like a life without understanding. That we need resolve of the fallacies from our perceptions. Forgiveness allows hope to spread contagiously. It can inspire the outbreak of a social contagion that becomes pandemic and a natural contagion that does not need to be contained but rather providing a place to grow and nourish the “flower and fruit of the man.” Nothing symbolizes faith more than living everyday life and believing that all things are possible. When faith is executed, it brings out the best in people and the human spirit. It becomes a shelter from “the dust.” It was complicated to describe the human spirit how it powers our ability to forgive without also covering faith and hope. As mentioned before, they are all interconnected and cannot be separated.

Open Document