fully expand my thinking, to set goals and have dreams that took me beyond our current situation. Considering my experiences, this was my reality and this was what I knew to be true for my future. Despite our financial hardship, we always had food to eat and clothes to wear. We were blessed beyond measure to have ‘Jenny’ as our mother because we knew that the life lessons she was teaching us would carry us further than anything we would gain from any future education.
While I did not appreciate what was happening at the time, my experiences and the lessons taught to me by my mother so many years ago have molded me into the mom, the wife, and the woman I am today. Although reserved and a woman of few words, my mother was a symbol of strength. Her life was a testament to the power of prayer. The lessons she shared were profound, and the life she lived, even in the face of challenges, was truly inspirational. Her words of wisdom were often tough to hear but were spoken out of love. Those conversations remain with me today living in my heart and flowing through my spirit. It is this hope that continues to drive me to be the person I know my mother would want me to be.
This was my yesterday. It is where my roots were planted and where I learned my most valuable lessons. Somewhere during my teenage years, the fire that burns within me was fueled. Even though my environment had not changed, I learned that my willingness to have faith and to dream gave me permission to move past my current situation and into my blessed life.
Today, my past is my footstool. It is what I stand upon to gain motivation and to expand my potential. My past will be used as a platform to share my story, my vision, and to establish my legacy. It is what I will use to encourage you to exercise faith, to think without limits and to take bold action in the face of adversity and popular opinion.
Through this book, I give to you a gift, the precious residual of my yesterday so that you are motivated beyond measure. There is a power in my past, and I intend to use it. I encourage you to do the same. My story is now our motivation.
Our meeting is not by chance. It was destined that I would share the lessons from my past so that you could be inspired to power through the limits in your own life. I pray that the Truth In Your Heart will help you realize that despite where you have been and despite where you are today, your hope for your future can and will become your reality.
My Heart Speaks and So Does Yours
“When you are inspired by some great purpose, some extraordinary project, all your thoughts break their bonds: Your mind transcends limitations, your consciousness expands in every direction, and you find yourself in a new, great, and wonderful world. Dormant forces, faculties and talents become alive, and you discover yourself to be a greater person by far than you ever dreamed yourself to be.” —Patanjali
For years, I had this vision of what my life would be like. I always felt that I was put on this earth to make a difference. Growing up, I can recall declaring that one day I will be somebody and that I will be rich! Much of this prophesying had to do with the fact that my family did not have many of the material things my siblings and I longed for. Although we didn’t have much, we were comfortable and we were thankful. Even still, I knew that it was okay to dream of a better tomorrow.
As I matured, my desire to be somebody evolved into the desire to be somebody who could make a difference in the lives of others. As for my desire to ‘be rich,’ well, that never changed! I still have the desire to have wealth, but not in the way you might think. My desire for riches has more to do with the fullness and love that is experienced when I am able to serve God and help others transform into their true selves.
I believe that we are all here for a reason, and I desperately wanted to know what that reason or purpose was for me. Because of my lack of clarity around what my true purpose was, confusion grew stronger in my mind and in my life.
I have known for years that I had a passion for leading, inspiring, and developing people. This is what I love. This is where I am gifted and I accept this. For a very long time, in my push to find my purpose, I became frustrated. Just because you know what you love to do does not mean you fully understand your purpose for your life. I soon realized that if I followed my passions and operated in the space where I was gifted and experienced, more would be revealed to me and I would be able to someday walk in my purpose.
I had to accept that my purpose was not a final destination waiting to be found, it would be a way of life.
With every passing year, my desire to have greater clarity regarding how to satisfy the pull that was inside of me seemed to grow. Even though I knew what my passions were and what I loved to do, the real question was where do I use them and how? How would my passions play out in the big picture of my life; the living out of my calling.
As vague and as frustrating as it was, I knew that there was something growing inside of me, and it was originating in my heart. In an effort to find my place, where I was meant to be, I took many roads. I experienced many situations and the resulting emotions that would ultimately force my hand and serve to direct my life’s journey. I have often found myself in places that I thought were perfect for me, only to be revisited by the feeling that, still, there is more, and more for me to do. My heart was speaking to me in soft whispers every day and I was beginning to take notice.
As I actively searched for my next move, I struggled with the internal conversations. Some conversations were good, and some not so good. Literally, it was as if there were two people in my head, and they were at war! One was cheering me on telling me to keep going and that my desire to live with meaning was too important to quit. The other was constantly reminding me of the difficulty in this journey, and all the reasons why change would not work, and why I should just stay where I was. I was torn. Too many times to admit to, I gave in to the voice in my head that said I would not fully succeed at living out my life’s purpose.
My eyes had to be opened to the fact that, all along, my purpose had been safely planted in my heart waiting to be revealed. You see, God works through the heart, not the mind. His ways are beyond comprehension! He doesn’t try to reason with us so that we understand what is in store for our lives. Besides, we wouldn’t get it or believe that it could happen! He wants us to have faith that He knows what he is doing with our lives. If you are trying to figure out what God has in store for you, get out of your head! He speaks to us through our heart. Because of this, the heart knows, and it speaks to you daily. There is something special there that holds the secret to your happiness. You just have to listen, believe, and be prepared to act!
You know exactly what is in your heart, and you know what it is saying to you. Be honest with yourself! You know if you are content where you are and if you are not. You know what areas you are talented in and what you are passionate about. Other people can see it in you, and they have likely told you where you shine. Be willing to listen to your heart, listen to your life, and then be willing to act.
Once I was able to confidently proclaim what my passions were, my quest to figure out how I would use my passions to live out my calling became overwhelming. What would be the vehicle by which this vision for my life would be made true? Ideas began to flow, dreams began to form, and I set goals to achieve these dreams. Even still, figuring out how this would be played out in my life was more difficult than I could have imagined. The confusion persisted and my heart ached, literally.
I often retreated to my comfort zone and listened to the voices in my head. There was an internal conversation going on 24 hours a day that told me no matter what path I sought to take, I would not be accepted. I could hear myself thinking that I would not be good enough, wouldn’t know enough, and wouldn’t have the resources to make it. These thoughts crippled me, and I settled in for many days of ordinary living, rather than the extraordinary living that awaited me.
I was living far beneath my God-given potential and I was not using my gifts for my good or for the good of anyone else. This was my struggle. More than anything, this stole my joy. I wanted more for my life, and more to be done through my life for others, but I could not make it happen. It was heartbreaking.
So I continued living my life, unconsciously, and short of my goals. I could not find the energy