Winter Flowers, Chapter 2

The very first sentence of Winter Flowers reflects the importance of the relationship between a mother and daughter, and in the second chapter the author recollects fond childhood memories of her and her mother. She wins the lead role in her class’s Christmas play, thinking that she has finally one-upped her unspoken rival, Ashley. Ashley is the model of Southern perfection and incredibly smart, and 7-year-old Jumana feels that she has to beat her to have a sense of self-worth. However, on the evening of the school play, she realized that she did not need to be better than anybody because her mother was on the front row, applauding her. Her mother called her a masterpiece.

This chapter was very revealing about how many of us join the rat race in trying to prove how good we are, so that somebody will pat us on the back and say what a good job we have done. All too often we feel that we have to beat people to climb up the ladder of success. However, what really matters is having somebody to belong to, and when we can realize this, stepping on people’s faces is not nearly as important as it formerly was.

There were some very interesting points in this chapter, and I would love to see your comments on them. One is that her mother never celebrated Christmas; however, when I lived in Jordan I spent time with many Muslims who do celebrate Christmas. Although Christmas is traditionally a Christian holiday, why do some Muslims choose to celebrate it?

Jumana was confused about her religious identity because her mother was a nonpracticing Muslim and she grew up in Mississippi. Where do we get our religious identity from? Is it a matter of family, personal choice, or a combination?

In your opinion, why is the relationship between a mother and daughter important?

About the author

I grew up in conservative Christian circles in the American South, and majored in theology at an Alabama Southern Baptist college. Without really understanding why, I believed that Muslims were to be avoided at all costs, and we have to unilaterally support Israel. Like many young adults, after college I wasn't sure at all of what I wanted to do with my life, so I traveled to the Middle East for a year and a half. Most of the people I met were descendants of the Palestinian refugees forced out of their homeland in 1948, when Israel was recreated. I fell in love with Arab culture, and realized that on the world scene, Arabs have no voice. Living in the Middle East gave me fresh new eyes to read the Bible, and interacting with Arab Christians, especially Palestinian Christians who live in Jordan, caused me to question all the dogmas regarding Israel with which I had grown up.

Living in the Middle East also gave me the courage I needed to pursue my lifelong dream of being an author. My first book, A Theology of Chaos, will come out this next spring. I plan to use the profits from it to support organizations in the Middle East that are fighting for justice. I have written some short stories as well, which you can find on smashwords.com under my full name, Margaret Elysia McColley.

I now live in New York City, where emergency procedures for a potential terrorist attack are constantly updated, and where the sharp divide between Christians, Muslims, and Jews can be clearly seen on posters in the subways. My goal in life is simple: to end terrorism in my lifetime, by giving a voice to social injustices that compel terrorists to violence.

View the Original article