John Henry

? Before there were songs being written and sung, marveling at his strength, exploits and such, John Henry was a slave in the state of Virginia. Yes, John Henry…that John Henry…was a slave. A prized piece of chattel, he was a mountain of a man for his time, solidly built, tilting the scales at an even 200 pounds standing just a shade over 6 feet tall. His frame and his muscle were forged by day while laboring as a blacksmith, shaping and molding the metals that supported the plantation he lived on. But while his frame and muscle were built by day, what held him at night…would forever define his legacy.

A man his size was considered a prime piece of property and his master knew it which is why each night when the other slaves obediently retreated to their quarters, John Henry was locked into his.  Each night after working from first light to last, chains were wrapped around his entire cabin to make sure there was no chance for this valuable piece of free labor, this…”prime black buck”…capable of producing more like him, this person who was treated like a thing…ever escaped. 

Each morning, the overseers would unlock those chains, one hand on their gun, the other on their lash, and point him toward the shop to begin the daily toil. Then one morning, the chains were unlocked, never to be locked again. John Henry and the rest of the slaves were told that they were now free. But while the others cried tears of joy, ran about hugging, screaming and shouting to the sky…John Henry had one final task to complete.

He gathered that river of chains—the ones that had held him in that cage of a cabin built just for him and dragged them to the very blacksmith shop he labored in daily from sunup to sundown. An expert at his craft, John Henry built a fire; the right kind of fire and when it became just right, he dropped those wicked chains into a large melting pot. 

Once they had liquefied he carefully poured those chains that had come to define his pain, the unspeakable horrors of the slave’s life…into molds that held his glory, his newfound freedom…and pulled out two hammers. He didn’t just stand there, marveling at them much like others had done him for the entirety of his life. Instead, he hoisted one on each shoulder…

And walked boldly into his destiny…

***

If you haven’t felt pain…you haven’t lived because pain is no respecter of persons. It comes to the rich, the poor, and it doesn’t care what color or hue your skin may be. In most cases, most of us waste our pain not knowing that it was really meant for our good so today friend, gather it up. That’s right, search every area of your life, gather the pain that has held you and drop it into the large smelting pot that is your mind! 

Now build a fire…build a just right fire on the inside…in your heart and melt them down! Melt the failed relationships, the passed over promotions, the financial hurdles you didn’t clear…the this…the that, the whatever…melt them down!

If you’re looking for those molds of glory, don’t worry. Don’t worry because they were made for you, just for you before you ever got here…just keep melting…keep doing your part and when the chains have been liquefied…the molds will appear. I promise they will. 

Don’t act surprised because I told you they would be here! I told you…now start pouring and with each drop of that now liquid pain, feel how much stronger you have become. Feel it on the inside and the outside. Stand back…let it all sink in…let it cool for just a moment. Reflect on how much you have grown during this process alone.

Pull with all your might and in each hand, there will be a beautiful hammer made for you and you alone! But now that you’ve done all of this, don’t make the mistake of marveling or settling for what has been done like others before you have. Hoist those hammers high…

And walk boldly into your destiny…