Four years ago I saw a young person walking down a country road in Alabama. I offered him a ride, and my life was changed. In the deep south a young gay man trying to make a life for himself stood out in stark contrast to our mores and traditions. As a pastor’s wife I had crossed neutral territory and found myself deep in the heart of a story. It was the human condition. The question every person asks: “where do I belong?”
Once that relationship began, and I saw the world from a new vantage point, I realized the story needed to be told. Everywhere I looked the conversation was unfolding around me. How do we accept people who are different than we are? Sometimes the conversation was charged with pain and hate, sometimes with tenderness and sacrifice. I wanted to add my own voice. Mercy Sings at Midnight is my way of adding to the conversation.
Let me introduce you to Dixie Lee who lives in small town Mississippi, in the heart of delta land, deep in Baptist country. As a pastor’s college aged daughter she knows the rules, and plays by them.
But when she meets a compelling stranger all of that changes. Through an unlikely friendship she discovers that religion is about more than just following the rules. It’s about love. Can her family, and her town, accept her relationship with an outsider? Dixie discovers that everyone has a story to tell. Including her own mother. And secrets that have been hidden, once uncovered, can open the door to deeper understanding. Even the most critical hearts can become kind.
Becoming a Woman of Influence 