Loving Eleanor(BWWM)

Chapter Seven

Location: New Haven, Connecticut
Date: November 1st, 1949
Name: Eleanor Hazel Bush
Age: twenty-three

"He had the nerve to call me prejudiced! A white man calling me prejudiced!" Eleanor exclaimed as she paced around the living room.

She had been home for thirty minutes now and she just wanted to scream.

Mildred laughed and placed her hand on Eleanor's shoulder to stop her movement. "I can see where he was coming from, Hazie. I'm just surprised that he admitted to being prideful, God is good!" She gushed. Eleanor only shrugged and walked to her typewriter.

"If you're not busy, I'd like you to join your father and me at church tonight," Mildred said from the kitchen an hour later.

Eleanor stopped typing for a second and pondered. She could stay home and complete the rewritten analysis, or she could go to church and learn more about Jesus.

"I need Jesus," She whispered lowly before answering her mother. "I'll come to church with you,"

"Quit typing and get ready," Mildred responded from the kitchen with a light tone, telling Eleanor that she was only teasing.

-

As she walked down the aisle of the church, Eleanor noticed Francesca and Harold sitting near the front row. She only waved at them, not wanting to sit next to them.

Eleanor's mind was racing on the way to church. Maybe Professor Curtis was right about her, but she just didn't like the idea of a white man telling her about her faults. He had no right to highlight her flaws when his people were working hand in hand with the devil.

As she sat down and waited for the service to start, a thought came to mind. 'Am I supposed to feel this way about white people? They are God's creation, so shouldn't I love them?'

She couldn't find an answer, because just then Pastor Johnson began to speak.

"Today, I'm going to talk about love." He started with a calm tone. "Jesus's love for us, His bride. Jesus's love for all of creation. God's love for us, and how we are to love like Jesus."

He opened his Bible and turned a few pages before continuing. "John 15:12 says, 'This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.' Romans 12:14 says, 'Bless them which persecute you: bless, and curse not.' You have to love that white person who hates you! You have to love that colored person who hates you! God has commanded us to love. Sometimes God will use you to share love to someone who needs it the most," He explained and closed his Bible.

"We must face our fears and even the hatred in our hearts, and love everyone. Even the ones who persecute us, especially them. Now, I'm not saying to let them run over you, because Jesus didn't let people run over Him with their words, He always spoke with love, even when He rebuked them it was out of love. Don't learn from me, don't try to live like me. Learn from the Perfect Son of God." Eleanor's ears seemed to tune in when Pastor Johnson spoke about being like Jesus in everything you do.

She always prayed to be more like Jesus, and she was given the opportunity to do so, but she rejected it and let the hatred in her heart get in the way.

"Oh my," She gasped and her eyes widened.

Professor Curtis was right. She seemed much more like Elizabeth Bennet than she expected. For the past few weeks, Professor Curtis was changing right in front of her eyes, but her prejudice was hindering her from seeing it.

He was tough on her, but he never tried to hurt her. He did make a few snide remarks in the beginning, but now he was sort of pleasant. He saved her from being raped. He owned up to being a prideful jerk, but all she did was get upset with him.