Wednesday, July 7th 2010
Stress creates illusions, drawing you into a world where you begin to believe you’ve lost focus and therefore lost control. Control comes when you begin to see what lies behind the curtains and realize that every shout, cry, laugh, and tear is a blessing; they are the blueprints that life follows to shape us into whom we are and who we are destined to be.
Sunday, July 4th 2010
As my voice rang throughout the house, I saw the startled faces of everyone pause, turn, and look, their eyes frozen in silence, their bodies frozen in fear. It was in that very moment that I saw the very path that God had chosen for me to travel in my own life.
Your childhood sweetheart, your prom king, the one you saved yourself for, waited for, checked, then fought girls after school for—if you didn’t give up on him then, I know that deep within lies the strength that you can summon and focus on to instill within you the strength to not give in now.
“I wouldn’t tell you wrong; go get your man, girl!” I shouted as my car keys dangled from my left hand. Your happiness means more than someone’s opinion; follow your heart.
Nothing in life comes without hard work and sacrifice; even your blessings, you’ll learn, must be fought for.
Wednesday, June 30th 2010
What is it, America? Why do people get so upset when they see a great leader or one of their favorite celebrities caught in a scandal? What is it that surprises you? Is it the fact they are not the epitomes of perfection you see airbrushed in your magazines or that in reality they are more human than you believed? I recall a few years ago I found myself watching “Jada Pickett Smith” saying on an episode of Oprah Winfrey that we all have problems and issues. In her own words, simply put, “We all have stuff.” Some of us have more than others. Some of us hide it well, and others do not.
In this world, not everyone is going to be the way you want them to be, do what you want them to do, or look the way you want them to look. Jesus said, “He who is without sin” and I think you readers out there, those of you who do believe in Jesus, can finish the rest. The journey from A to B is not and never has been an easy one. Each day we struggle to become someone or something better than we once were, but the battle has never been simple. When I see people of all sorts involved in issues ranging from late-night flings to racial comments, I don’t judge them because I know I am far from perfect myself. Talk to your parents, sit and listen to your grandparents. Hear their stories, laugh, let their words sink in, learn their journeys, and use them as the blueprint to help guide you as you travel through your own.
