One Key Spiritual Lesson From ‘The Color Purple’

”I am a God who is everywhere and not in one place only.” — Jeremiah 23:23. 

Her novel The Color Purple is a classic of world literature. But did you know Alice Walker intended it to be a theological narrative? 

While the book has many themes, Walker wanted “faith” to be its throughline. The book begins with a diary entry from the main character, Celie, who writes, “Dear God…”

The book ends with a similar entry from Celie, but this time addressed to God, the stars, the trees, the sky, and everything in between. These entries were Walker’s way of showing the evolution of Celie’s faith from religiosity to spirituality. 

Within the book Walker writes, “Any God I ever felt in church I brought in with me.”

Our faith in Spirit is a living, breathing relationship we always carry. Wherever we are, we both shape and are shaped by Spirit. 

Our relationship with faith will change throughout our lives. We will experience Spirit in complex ways that will only deepen our relationship with the universe and with ourselves. 

Like Celie’s, our faith grows and evolves over time. 

Faith is about our commitment to continue to meet the Spirit – and ourselves – through each change.