For many years I asked, “What was the purpose of all the adversity I have faced in life?” This question went unanswered for years. It was not until 2010 that I began to see a glimpse of purpose on the horizon. God planted a seed for me to write a book about my life story.
My first thought was this is not only comical but it’s a bad idea. I never attended college, I struggled with ADD and dyslexia. I was a slow reader and known to be quite the creative speller. How could I write a book?
I marinated on this crazy idea for months before running it by a few family members who know me best. I, however, was not ready for their reactions. Some burst into laughter asking what I had to share that was so interesting. Others were appalled that I would even think of infringing on their privacy exposing their bad life choices.
With these responses, it was more than easy to push this harebrained idea out of my head. Over the next three years, it was an emotional tug-of-war – to write or not to write. My favorite radio station, Spirit 105.9, was debuting a song called, “You Are More” by Tenth Avenue North. My heart was pierced by the lyrics of the chorus;
You are more than the choices that you’ve made,
You are more than the sum of your past mistakes,
You are more than the problems you create,
You’ve been remade.
Do you believe the lyrics above? Can one be remade? For almost as long as I am old, I did not believe I was worthy of being remade, renewed or restored. I was paralyzed by fear about my past and what I had endured. But the lyrics to this song convicted me so deeply it was the final nudge needed to push me into my writing journey.
7 Beliefs That Gave Me The Courage To Share My Life Story:
- Our past does not determine our future
- We are not alone in this journey called life
- Our self-image should come from God’s image of us
- We are only as strong as our weakest limiting belief
- We attract into our life what we focus on most
- We reap the fruit of our own spirit
- Defy F.E.A.R. – False Evidence Appearing Real