The name Jameela means “beautiful” in Arabic. And sometimes a person’s name fits them perfectly.
I met Jameela during my time at Montgomery Behavioral Health (MBH), in a season of my life when I needed encouragement more than I probably realized.
She was one of those people who could brighten a difficult day simply by showing up with kindness, compassion, and a few encouraging words.
We talked about faith. We talked about fasting, including the Easter fast, and what it means to deny ourselves something physical in pursuit of something spiritual.
Fasting isn’t simply about going without food. It’s about making room. Room for prayer. Room for reflection. Room for God to work on the things inside us that we cannot fix by ourselves.
Jameela understood that.
What I remember most wasn’t any particular conversation. It was her spirit. She encouraged me. She made me feel that I was more than my circumstances, more than my mistakes, and more than the place where we happened to meet.
Sometimes God sends us encouragement through people we never expected to meet, in places we never wanted to be.
Jameela was one of those people.
“Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do.”
1 Thessalonians 5:11 (KJV)
Jameela, if you ever read this, thank you. Thank you for your encouragement, your kindness, and the conversations about faith that meant more to me than you may ever know.
Your name means beautiful.
So does the way you treated me.
A Song for Jameela
This song is one I wrote with my band, Another Roadside Attraction. I’m sharing it here as part of this dedication to Jameela.
Good News. Good Works. Beautiful People.
JC
