Years ago, my spiritual director suggested that I plant sage in my herb garden. She knows I need contact with wisdom in whatever form. Typically I have three types of sage in the garden, since her advice is worth heeding several times over.

Yesterday I finally had time to tend the herb garden. I've been traveling and working extra lately and the gardens show neglect. The herb garden is not large--2'x 6' perhaps. The tall purple sage dominates the space. It's been there many years and flourishes. The purple tips are delicate and bend gracefully in the wind. Bees and the occasional hummingbird are attracted by the special aroma. In its growing exuberance, the sage cascaded over most of the garden.

Out came the pruning shears and I cut branches off the base of the plant until it was about half-size. Underneath I found two plants I forgot I had planted this year, French Tarragon and Horehound. While yet healthy, they are rather puny since they haven't received much light or rain. Don't get me wrong--the sage was gorgeous and healthy and doing what it does best. However, it simply didn't leave room for other plants to contribute their colors and aromas and flavors to the garden.

That set me thinking about people and groups that overshadow one another. White people are one group that quickly came to mind. I'm white and lately I've been thinking about the privileges we have, and of which we are often unaware. Sort of like the sage, just joyfully growing and shutting out the light for others that didn't get started as early, whites had a head start in this country. Most white men came by choice, were legally able to own cheap land, vote, be educated--and other folks haven't had an easy time catching up. They have to work extra hard to get their share of the necessities of life.

This situation came home to me as I prepared an activity for Mennonite Church USA Convention 2009: bracelets. As youth picked up a bead, they also read a statement and thought about how true or false it was for them.

Statements to consider

• When I consult professionals, I meet role models who look like I do.

• I was not taught about racial profiling for my own daily physical protection.

• I am unaware of the Indigenous People who once inhabited the land where I live.

• The color of my skin gives me access to power.

• My experience proves that racism is still a significant obstacle for some people in the United States.

• People have never asked me to speak for my entire race.

• In most of the images I've seen, God and Jesus look like me.

• I have benefited from intergenerational wealth that was accumulated as a result of genocide, stolen land, slavery and military conquest.

• The "color" of my race is associated with purity, angels, cleanliness and right answers.

• I find it difficult to create authentic relationships across race lines, but with the grace of God, I am learning.