I Don't Look Like What I've Been Through

My mother and brothers are on vacation in the Virgin Islands for Memorial Day weekend. Before they, left my mom sent a picture of me in the V.I. I think I was two or three. In the E-mail she asked me what happened to the little girl who never feared anything. She said I wasn't afraid of the ocean or it's contents. She said I ran toward it, and kept trying to go as far as I could. The woman in the background is my grandmother, and she doesn't swim.

To be honest, I guess life just happened. Things happen that can wear away at us. Before we know it we are not the person who God created us to be. However, through the grace of God we are restored. So many things happened between that time and below on my 25th birthday. There was joy, but there were also many trials, tribulations, pain, insecurities, and uncertainty. I now see how the devil set up strategic traps, so that I would fail, but God kept me. It's funny how we can go from a God designed life to living a life of death. My 25th birthday was something that I never took for granted, because I realized that I almost didn't make it to see age 25. When you hear me say that I'm still standing, I really mean that I'm still standing. It was also around the first time in my life that I remember being truly confident.




So many things happened between the day of my 25th birthday, and later that year in the picture below. Many changes took place, many habits were broken, many yokes were broken, and ties were cut, but I wasn't really where I needed to be. I was still outside of God's purpose for my life. I chose the last two pictures, because I can vividly remember the thoughts that I had about the direction of my life on those days.



So-o-o many things have happened between this picture and 26. So many things have happened between that picture and today. I can testify that when God is in your life there are no limits or boundaries to where He'll take you. I don't look like what I've been through, and it's all because of God's grace. I'm not fully where I want to be, and I'm humbled knowing that I am always a work in progress, but I've stepped into God's purpose for my life. His grace is more than enough for me, and I constantly thank Him for the patience He has built in me during my trials. I am thankful that I am open to helping others learn from my experiences.

What ever happened to the little girl who never feared anything? She disappeared for a little while, but she's back!