A few months ago, I convinced a friend to help me with a do-it-yourself home project.

It was simple enough: replace an outlet and light switch in my bedroom and bathroom. What we thought would take less than an hour turned into a 6-hour ordeal.

What took so long was the fact that some wires got crossed that eventually led to the breaker switch not working. We kept losing power to the room even though we had the new outlet installed. It was frustrating because at one point it looked like we had no power in the room, but one outlet was working. After switching wires, we realized that one little wire caused the power to go off to the rest of the room. More importantly, there was power available in the room, but we just didn’t realize it.

When this happened, I thought it was an insightful lesson into power and realizing how even though it may not seem like it, you have the power. But after seeing the new revenge movie Is God Is, I’m thinking there is more to that do-it-yourself lesson.

The critically acclaimed movie, which was released right before Memorial Day weekend,
is the story of twin sisters who are told by their mother to find their father and kill him. The mother named God was disfigured by him and so were the twins when he set her on fire years ago. In many ways, getting this assignment from their mother gives them a unique sense of purpose. And in striving to fulfill that purpose, they also start to realize power that they possess but have never tapped into.

The idea is that the power, meaning insight and wisdom, resides in both. While on their revenge journey, they acquire additional knowledge and a deeper understanding. But they must do something first to access that power.

What the movie skillfully shows is the complicated relationship between African American women, emotions, and power. We are told to push down our emotions so we can function and
seem more powerful (Strong black woman sound familiar?). Yet it seeps out little by little
as rage, anger, fear, and pity. But in this movie, you see the young women having full
moments of emotional release.

The catharsis or purging of emotions is real and necessary. As the movie concludes, you feel a similar emotional release and realize that the true power was being blocked by those emotions. You also feel a sense of freedom and new strength that comes from cleaning all of that negative stuff out of you. The purging of emotions is like the process of meticulously making sure that the electrical wires were properly attached in that it took time, attention to detail and became frustrating at times.

Matthew 12: 34 is a scripture that alludes to purging. “O brood of vipers, out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks, right?” What is in you, whether it is good or evil, comes out of you through your words and action. The most important thing is you’ve got to be purged and healed from the inside out, which is what this movie is about.

You have to get those unhealthy emotions cleansed then you can tap into the real power of emotional strength that is inside of you.

Shewanda Riley (Aunt Wanda), PhD, is a Fort Worth-based author of “Love Hangover: Moving from Pain to Purpose After a Relationship Ends” and “Writing to the Beat of God’s Heart: A Book of Prayers for Writers.” Email her at preservedbypurpose@gmail.com or follow her on Instagram @shewandawrites.
Listen to her in-depth discussion of Is God Is on the latest episode of her podcast “The Chocolate Auntie Podcast” on the Alive Podcast network at www.alivepodcastnetwork.com.