One thing I found out for myself this week is regardless what anyone says, you can make it.

I have been through a lot in my life. A lot of very close deaths… Toxic relationships… Set backs in my health… a realization that I am not perfect. 2011 and 2014 were the hardest. I have cried, I have mourned, and I have screamed in frustration and in disbelief over all the things that have come my way during those times. I struggled with the fact that someone once I loved, broke my heart. I was internally crushed after a beautiful young man was taken way too soon senselessly by gun violence… afterward, learning someone I had once trusted with my life had lied to me about so much and had possibly put me in danger because of their own evil actions. Still dealing with lingering fear and uncertainty from those experiences, I then had to endure the pain of a stillbirth of my own just a few years later. And so, I have fought with acceptance within myself, striving to not be perfect for anyone here, but to be acceptable in God’s sight at least.

I realize now that as I cried, I still have so many other things to rejoice. Some people may say I was too naïve and stupid or was too forgiving and overlooked too much– in an effort to break down my self-esteem and my gentle spirit. I know better. I can’t worry about what others may think of me. I will only look to God for now on for guidance and comfort instead of seeking answers from other complicated people who in actuality are no better than myself.

Empower yourself now for success. Anyone who tells you that you can’t do something, doesn’t really know. Anyone who only points out the negative in you, hides behind their own. No one is any better than the person next to them. We all are born, and we all will die regardless of our different life experiences in between. We all have faults, and we all feel pain.

Let go of the past things that hold you back.  Reach for the greatness in yourself by doing your best in everything.  Feel inspired about yourself instead of depressed.  Keep a smile on your face and love in your heart for everyone, regardless of if others have any love for you.  For a brief moment when I was caught up in the negativity, I couldn’t eat, and I couldn’t sleep for days.  But I know, I cannot change the past – only what I choose to do in the future, and I will work to make the best out of each new day I’m given.

This is my message for this weekend. Don’t give up, regardless of what anyone tells you or speaks of you. You know your heart, so trust and believe in yourself. Use whatever people say against you as motivation, and with dedication you may prove them wrong while achieving maximum greatness within.

Have a Blessed weekend. Let’s love a little more.