The Bible says that man ought to always pray and never faint, because prayer changes things. I truly, truly, truly thank God for his mercy, grace, and his divine provision for my life. February 5, 2022 marks two years now since moving into this new dwelling place, my apartment. These two past years have been like a training camp. Every day, a new adventure. Sometimes I was up, and sometimes I was down. Sometimes I reached my mark, and then there were days I fell short. But I continued to fight and pressed regardless of my emotions. Transitioning from homelessness to having a home has been a process to be reckoned with, for not only was it a physical change, but it was also a mindset change. Often, at the beginning of my being housed, I had to remind myself that I was not homeless anymore but just home…less. I would still stay out all day long until dusk, then I would go in because I had been so used to doing as such. I had to remember that life still goes on, regardless of the penalty of a loved one on the birth of a new life.
Life shows up in any situation or circumstance without our permission. The grueling reality of dealing with the vicissitudes of life is that you can allow them to overwhelm you or roll with the punches and posture up, knowing that some things are just totally beyond our control. This is when you allow that power greater than yourself (which is God almighty) to be your fortress and guide. At these points of distress and unrest, I hold fast to this profession, “God grant me the serenity to accept the things I can not change, the courage to change the things that I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.” And, just to add to it if I may, ‘remembering I don’t run nothing but my mouth.’ As I quoted a while back, when I was fortunate enough to be in attendance to ingest Richard Hoehler’s off-broadway show “I of the storm,” which is a must- see show, as it expresses and depicts an open-minded and true look at life’s lessons and how one could sometimes complicate it to the point where one can miss the true essence of living life is: “intoxicating, exasperating, but invigorating!” This plight has been such a journey, and I dare to add or take anything from my experience, because it is shaping and molding me into who I am becoming, ‘a progressive, productive citizen of the society and overall ‘a blood-bought child of God,’ who is ministry bound. And, not succumbing to the foolishness of life’s escapades, I sometimes have to remind myself from whence I’ve come, or I just might fall into that same hole in the sidewalk of life that I fell in before even with the knowledge of its presence and doing the same thing expecting a different result when there are none.
I often wonder about that train of thought. It is my belief that we sometimes do things so religiously that before we even acknowledge or recognize it, we end up on that same bed of nails as before, somewhat calloused to the pain and suffering that keeps us in that vicious cycle of life we created. We are truly the master of our own destiny, and we harness the power and authority to pen the chapters in this book of life. Ultimately, we have the wherewithal to choose life or death. “Change I must or die I will” is a quote I’ve heard over and over and over again. It takes courage to change. It can become tedious sometimes because we tend to be so consumed with what others may think or have to say about this ‘new’ you!!!
We need not be so stiffed about what others assume because in doing so you make an ass-out-of-u-n-me. For those of us who desire ‘true’ change, we definitely have to stay focused on our newfound outlook and continue to keep the main thing, the main thing!!! We are, you are the most important person, and we must realize that er-body not gonna totally approve of your change. Believe it not, some folkS don’t want you to change for fear that they may have to or truly need to change as well. Remember this, as I have heard it said, “life for me ain’t been no crystal stair,” and be ever-so-careful not to let the naysayers to rent space in your head; in closing, before you go to that committee meeting in your own head, remember to “consult God first,” because that’s where the battle is waged: in your mind. You can’t fight what you can’t see! Let God fight your battles, you just be a part of it. When God is in it, there is no limit! Change is a beautiful thing! Embrace it! Be encouraged. If ain’t nobody told you this day, that they love you, God loves you and so do I. We are more alike than different. Peace out…
Quiet the voices, silence the demons.
