In those moments when it seems clear that we’re lurching painfully backwards, I give thanks for the memory of Amelia Boynton Robinson, who inspires me to do the small faithful thing in front of me that day.

Instead of asking us to descend into the caverns of our innermost selves and excavate our authentic identities, [Ecclesiates] offers alternative questions that point us back to the perceptible world: “What is my responsibility to the world around me?” “What does my hand find to do?”