GeTTING to Know ME
Like my mother, I gave birth to my first child at 16 and my second at 19. The victim of mental and emotional abuse, as my Mom's PTSD symptoms manifested in narcissistic behavior toward her daughters, especially after we reached the age of her victimization, being around 12 or 13. I found myself in a cycle of seeking love, being drawn to those suffering similar emotional neglect, trying to give them what I didn't get, while completely unaware that my mother's lack of empathy towards me taught me not to expect any of what I was giving, even respect. All this laid the foundation for domestic violence, rape, and a host of other devastations. However, while the storms of life put distance between God and my Mom for a spell, I found His Voice in mine, loving me as I was, encouraging me where I was, even guiding me to victory from victimhood, and He's been doing so ever since.
Having interrupted my studies to marry the man of my dreams, to grow our beautiful family, as well as my husband's design business, and later to support his call to ministry, I returned to school in my forties completing my B.S. in Digital Cinematography and my M.S. in Business with a focus on the Entertainment Industry from Full Sail University. I also became a licensed and ordained minister, alongside my husband of over twenty years then (thirty now), through Higher Ground Always Abounding Assemblies. By then, I'd given birth to a small tribe of thirteen whose ages ranged from practically newborn to good and grown Greens.
When asked to share with one of my professors in an assignment my goals and my why, I responded, "To be who I am - a child of God, and to do what I do which is to purposefully create, like my Daddy God." I summed up my why to be The People's Cry, as though the pandemic is blamed for much of today's depression, anxiety, and loneliness; hopelessness, these issues were on the rise since long before. A fact that's pretty easy to see since most of us don't need to reach any further than our very own friends, families, or if we're completely honest, even ourselves.
For example, I remember a couple of friends from high school. They were sister and brother and we met in my freshmen year. We were close, but we mostly bonded over superficial things like most kids that young. So, when my Senior year came, I had a baby to care for, was abandoned by my Mom, and was just trying to survive to graduate high school, I felt overwhelmed at times. The seemingly natural response was to attempt to lean on the shoulders of friends until this one evening when one of them told me that they were tired of hearing all my sad stories. Sounds cold I know. I thought so too back then, but they were kids, and it was A LOT! Imagine what that looks like for today's kids though, and adults too for that matter. Everyone always on our laptops at school and / or work, on our tablets and phones which we now take with us everywhere we go, and with the help of social media, they're all just overflowing with the dramas and even traumas of so many lives. It's all now constantly scrolling pass our eyes. It's good and bad, happy and sad, all multiplied by our number of "friends" and "followers." All you have to do is just care enough to not want to leave your brother or sister (in Humanity) in despair for it to become A LOT or overwhelming really fast, and all of that is added to whatever normal stress you might already have going on from your own personal life and those who are actually a part of it.
I myself am grown-grown now (smiles) and have weathered many of life's storms, which gives me great compassion for anyone else trying to navigate their way through their own. However, even with my life experiences, schooling, and credentials, I find myself like my high school friends, still not having all the answers, but...
I know where my help comes from
and I know who my hope lies in.
So, I plan to use such platforms as the aforementioned
for exaltations, declarations, as well as invitations to
THE ONE who alone is God, Savior, Lord
-- and perhaps most important to you, Peace --
JESUS CHRIST of Nazareth.
See Matthew 11:28-30