Friday, May 31, 2013

SOMETIMES BEING UNCOMFORTABLE IS A GOOD THING

Sometimes change feels really uncomfortable. Especially if we are uncertain of the outcome. I don't know about you guys, but sometimes when I  feel change occurring in my life, whether it's good or bad,  I get butterflies,  and I start to question and analyze everything!


 I once had a big fear of making  mistakes. I felt like if I made one wrong move, my  life would become too heavy a burden to carry. I hate being uncertain. I hate playing the "what if" game in my mind. It usually only leads to me wasting two or three hours, thinking of every possible scenario that could play out, because of a decision I made.

 You know,  you always hear people say things like, "you are what you think you are" or " if you believe it, you can achieve it." After awhile though these words become cliche. They lose their meaning, and thus you stop believing in their message. Truth is though, the words are true. The power to elevate yourself,  and move past your circumstances,  begins with your ability to believe in who and what you are.

The power to become the person we see in our dreams begins with our willingness to be uncomfortable sometimes. I think of it like this. For nine months a woman carries a child in her womb. For nine months she deals with the  aches that come with pregnancy. She watches her body change and endures the swollen feet, morning sickness, and the endless sleepless nights. She fights through hours of excruciating pain, tears, and fear. Oh, how uncomfortable she must be right?  She's changing!

Then what happens? One day she becomes really uncomfortable. So uncomfortable she feels as though she is losing control. Something within her causes her to begin pushing and breathing through the pain of her labor. Her personal struggle. She bears down and grips her body. She endures the uncomfortable. She gives into it, she  works through it.

Finally, something inside of her releases. She accepts change. She gives birth!

She gives birth, to this beautiful, precious treasure,  that was created and designed just for her!

 Accepting change is very similar to giving birth.   If we accept the change and push through the discomfort, we too will give birth. We will give birth to something that was created and designed  just  for us.

 Sometimes change is good. How will we ever know though,  if we are to afraid to be a little bit
 uncomfortable?

Wednesday, May 29, 2013

The Cycle Unbroken


As a child I would sit on my living room couch, crying and waiting for someone to come home to love me. I can still see myself,  nine years old, sitting on that brown couch, staring at the doors with tears streaming down my face. I can remember crying and pleading for someone to come save me. To take away the hunger pains that kept stabbing my stomach, to take the nagging feeling of being thrown away and left for trash.

Whenever my mother did decide to come home it was like I was invisible or a pestering fly that would not go  away. She came home, slept, changed her clothes, and headed back out the door. The most she would say is " don't let nobody in while I'm gone". No kiss, no hugs, no your dinner is in the oven. Truth is, I often stole pancake mix from the local corner store just to have a meal.  I knew where my mother was and would often walk to the bar she hung out at. When she would see me there she would "play nice", escort me out, and then tell me to take my fast behind home. She would say I don't have the right to got out looking for her, she was my mother.

So I would head back to that lonely apartment and sit there. I never questioned her. She taught me at a very young age that to do that was like committing suicide. I know I am not the only one who has gone through this kind of thing.. Some  of you have probably gone through worse. I have spent many hours reading stories of young men and women who have suffered from some sort of abuse. I have read stories of young children being prostituted in foster homes and their parents. I sit and ask myself when does it stop? I have learned that these type of situations leave deep and sometimes permanent scars. Scars that become infected because their never treated. They create cycles that seem to never end.

I cry for the child who must go through what I went through. I weep for the young man who will not be able to eat tonight. I pray for the young woman who has to deal with being assaulted every night and all the time by someone who should be protecting her.

I have seen so many super hero's created. So many have been idolized and looked upon as amazing. They stopped the bank robbers. Yay! They stopped the city from exploding! WOW! Not one of them stopped a child from being abused. A young woman or man from being sold like property to the highest bidder.

Why not? Is that not important? It so is, and it is so.... time!

I have created a Guardian for these beautiful people. I have created a Guardian for those of you who have felt the pain of abuse, of neglect, of life. I admit, I have created a Guardian for the little girl within me, that sits on that couch crying out for love and protection.

Healing starts from within. We all have the power to transcend our circumstances. We all the power to elevate someone else. It is time for us to save our children. It is time to mend broken spirits and wounded hearts. I plan to do it one word at a time. How will you?