Everything Happens for a Reason

Despite the current condition of our relationship, I am very thankful for lessons I learned from my mother. As early as I can remember, she told me I was someone special. From an imperfect beginning was born an amazing young girl who had a very special purpose.  “Everything happens for a reason” was a phrase I heard throughout my life. It became my own mantra. It helped me believe that there was a reason why I always got pink eye just before school picture day, why I was the tallest kid in class until the boys grew armpit hair, why I didn’t know my biological father, and why people who were different could be punished for just being different. I don’t know how it happened, I don’t remember when it happened, but I do know I have always had the faith that there was a greater plan for each of us and we were not privy to the upcoming details.

As I have grown, I have realized that my open thoughts about being special may have insulted a few people through the years. My heart and soul never intended that. Each of us has our own amazing and special purpose in life. It is up to you to find your gift and use it the best way you can. It is up to each of us to help another. Some moments, we are better at using our gifts than others… and indeed, this is all part of the plan. Each event has a lesson for us to learn, a story to be told, a person to prepare. To me, we are all a great big puzzle meant to come together. Each puzzle piece is different, we are not meant to be compared to one another. Each puzzle piece is interdependent on the others to make something complete.

The more I open my mind, the more my perspective changes. Rev. Wright of Union Baptist Church preached a sermon several weeks ago not feeling well and apologized for not being at his best; his words became everlasting wisdom to me that afternoon. He explained that joy is not an emotion or a state of being, but that joy is a simple gift from God. It is a fruit of the spirit and provides overwhelming comfort and contentment that flood’s the soul of the believer (Gal 5:22, Eph 1:12-14, 4:30). It is our belief that gives us the comfort and contentment of joy. Joy, the middle name my mother gave me. Joy, the contentment even in times of sorrow that has allowed me to believe God has placed me right where I need to be. Joy, while it is not always easy, it is what has allowed me to have gratitude for the lessons of my life.

My worship is diverse as is my life. Just this past Sunday, Pastor Katie McKown from Scottsville Baptist Church preached a sermon titled “We Will Not Keep Silent.” She is an amazing storyteller and provides many visual pearls in her lessons. This week, I heard that each of us has an amazing, special purpose, w are all jewels in a crown. As it is written, we are crowns in the hand of the Lord (Isaiah 62:3). Her sermon pulled together and validated “everything happens for a reason” and that reason is that we are all in process. God’s plan, God’s purpose is that we may walk through the storm and walk through the success with the same faithfulness. I believe it is the process that glorifies God.

Tonight I am thankful for the lessons of three people in my life, my mother, Reverend Wright, and Pastor Katie. Sometimes it takes forty years to learn a lesson. This lesson was a forty year process for me. Tonight, the joy in my spirit, the content in my heart, the faith in the process, may they all be glory to God.

The List

I am taking this year seriously. I will fly into forty fabulously. Here's the start of how I will get there...

1. Complete 40 blog posts. Feed Your Soul Fantastic This will display my commitment to the entire project. It should be easy to achieve, that commits me to one per week with a week off a month!
2. Lose 40 pounds. Attainable with a loss of less than 1 pound per week for the year.
3. Complete 40 Random Acts of Kindness.
4. Have sex 40 days in a row. I’m thinking this could change my marriage, LOL.
5. Take control of my spending and journal each penny spent, for at least 40 days.
6. Share an event in NYC with my son; a play, a parade, a panhandler. We’ll see how this one unfolds.
7. Photograph and frame a series that has meaning from this experience.
8. New INK!
9. Go horseback riding.
10. Do something in the sky; parasail, skydive, hot air balloon.
11. Inspire one other person to embrace their life moment with positivity.
12. Meditate more, rage less. I think my family can quantify and qualify the progress.
13. Music, music, music. Feed my soul with music everyday.
14. Find out what my gifts are, and use at least a few of them.
15. Listen to and take my own advice and allow the eternal optimist image to flow inside and out. What Was I Thinking?
16. Try 40 new recipes.
17. Pose for pin up style pictures with our classics, at least 40 poses.
18. Memorize 40 verses of scripture.
19. Volunteer somewhere new for at least 40 hours.
20. Dance in a mud puddle, with company.
21. Experience a sunset in a place where I have never been.
22. Climb a lighthouse. Maybe one with at least 40 steps?
23. Do 40 consecutive push-ups, without collapsing. J
24. Send 40 handwritten notes by mail.
25. Purchase $40 worth of scratch off lottery tickets.
26. Have professional family photos taken.
27. Exercise at least 40 minutes a day, 4 days a week. This is an extremely lofty goal for me!
28. Complete the Dr. Oz Belly Busting Workout seven days a week until it no longer makes me burn and out of breath in three sets.
29. Reduce my own carbon footprint. Easy Ways to Reduce Your Carbon Footprint
30. POLAR PLUNGE!
31. Make contact with, make time for, and make memories with friends; old and new.
32. Make a gallon of wine from honey or fruit.
33. Experience a girls weekend!

Another New Beginning

2000. I left New York and flew south for a new and improved life. I was 27. Within a year, my whole foundation was ripped out from under me and I fell flat upon my face. I fell hard. The fall created hurricane force winds, a great deal of debris, some scratches, and a few gaping wounds. It took some time, but I was eventually able to see the rays of sunshine through that mushroom cloud of disappointment and sadness. The perspectives of who I was, who I am, and who I will be were new. I was forever changed.

I now look back on that amazing devastation as one of the best periods of my life. It allowed me to come to a new understanding of who I am. I have spent the last decade, my thirties, trying to live, laugh, love, forgive and let live; to the best of my ability.

My thirties have been amazing, but they are coming to a close. 2012 will be my last year to celebrate as a thirty-something. In January 2012, I will be 39. So many people speak as 40 as the beginning of the end. I plan to defy that by living 39 as a new beginning. This blog is the story of another new beginning for me. May it inspire you to be open to a few new perspectives, a few new things, and maybe even a new you.