So, I had my son in 2010. It was at that moment I decided I had to turn my life around. I started researching how to start a business, relocated independently as a single mother with my son and suddenly got this great idea to write a book. Every time I started to type my computer would crash. After several attempts I started going to the library. I would write, write and write some more. Today my book is about to be published, and I have over 25 prepared workshops for at-risk youth, single mothers and women. My point in saying all this is to remind you of the importance of being able to embrace where you currently are.
Yes, I know that things may not be adding up. The bills maybe behind. There are some things you simply do not understand. I know you may not have any support at all or in the manner you would like it. However, what I do know is that your strength is being able to embrace the things you do have. You have breath. You have encouragement. You have strangers that share smiles with you. You have beautiful and healthy children. You have shelter. You have a vehicle or money to take public transportation. You have love within you. You have peace. You have good health. You have hope.
My hope is that if you felt that you didn’t have anything at the start of this article that now you feel empowered to reach for your destiny. When we embrace what we have, things begin working in our favor. Now y’all have to excuse me, but I’m a PK, a.k.a. a preacher’s kid. While I consider myself to be more spiritual than religious, I just want to say one word—faith. If you guessed correctly, that’s your first homework assignment. What does faith mean? How can you improve practicing it in your own life? Grab a girlfriend and make her your accountability partner. Support one another on this journey of self-discovery.
What about embrace? When you start to embrace what you have, you will see an immediate change in both your perception and life experiences. I know this because it literally has happened to me on several occasions. For example, the library was offering a free class that I was interested in. However, I didn’t have enough gas to go pick my son up from school, grab him something to eat from home and drive back to library. What I did was prepare dinner the night before and portioned out food for my son. The morning of class, I packed a cooler up with food and snacks. I clocked out of work, went to grab my son, stopped by a local gas station to heat the food, gave my son his food to eat.
Afterwards, we both went into the library and completed his homework, played some reading games together and checked out books. All this while waiting for the evening class to start. And on top of that, since I was the first participant that showed up, I received a $25 BP gas card.
When you start to embrace what you have, you will see an immediate change in both your perception and life experiences.
Work with what you have. You are enough you have everything you need. Once you start to use what you have, you will be provided with more. I end by saying this—trust the process. Use what you have and place those words, faith and embrace, somewhere where you will look daily. Until next time, embrace what you have so that you can move toward your destiny. My name is Shequila, and I believe in you. Love, peace and soul.
Shequila Roberts is the founder and CEO of Determine Now, Inc. Shequila’s goal is to transform the lives of youth by the masses. Determine Now currently provides positive youth development through mentorship, workshops, and mini-series. Shequila can always be found inspiring youth or a single mom near you.