Month: May 2015

You know as I was walking to my car on Thursday, I was recalling an incident that happened between me and a young lady at work, to make a very long story short – I transitioned on my job and there’s a young lady (a temp) that’s working my old job now, but I go back and forward on certain days to help out and/or catch up work that I worked on prior to my departure.

The young lady has a very sarcastic tone to her, upon walking into the office (where I used to sit) she asked me “Do you think you could find somewhere else to sit?” I mean, I’m glad you’re coming back and whatever but I need this seat because now I am starting to work, there’s a lovely seat next door where you could sit.” First of all I wanted to say, there’s a lovely seat next door for you to sit at; you been at this job for 2 seconds and already making demands? Really??? Not Today….but it was merely the way she said it and the way she was looking while saying it….”Greater is he that’s within me I said to myself” – Because I was about to have a showdown on her with my mouth in full swing…….but I said…

Sure,….No problem.

All types of things were coming to my mind about that situation and I wanted to say more than what I said…..but I got to thinking as I was walking, what if God took out his frustrations on us because of something we did to him, What if he said “Well since you won’t worship me, I’m not going to wake you up this morning” There would be sooo many of us dead right now, or if he said “What?” you don’t want to obey me, okay then I’m going to cause you to have an accident. What type of God would he be if he did that to us…

Because that is what we do to people, we seek revenge – Instead of letting God fight the battle (and that’s hard to do sometimes) we fight our own battles – When someone wrongs us or our family we seek to get them back and make them hurt the way they made us hurt, we hurt people because – we hate people because – we talk and down people because – they did it to us first.

But what if God was like that towards us – Just doing us wrong because we hurt him and we do hurt him every day when we don’t forgive, when we don’t love, when we don’t help, when we cast stones on people, when we don’t try to live right, when we murder (with our tongues and our hands); but yet and despite of – He still loves us even when we don’t love him like we should. His love is unconditional so there is nothing that you can do that will make him stop loving you, he loves you in spite of how you or we ultimately treat him.

That same love is what I had to have for that young lady – a long time ago there was this sign that read WWJD (What Would Jesus Do) at the time; that phrase was so popular, everyone had some type of paraphernalia that related to the words WWJD, but did they know what they were really wearing? It was supposed to be a “conscious” sign for all of us to take account of our actions and our words towards one another by thinking What Would Jesus Do in this situation or What Would Jesus Do, if someone hated him, lied on him, misused him, abused him, chastised him, called him out of his name, talked about him and etc.

So What Would JESUS really Do? Easy, a simple 4 letter word called – L.O.V.E

I wasn’t nasty to that young lady in which to some people, I would have had every right to be and then some, but the bible tells us to “Follow peace with all men, holiness without, in which no man shall see the Lord. Hebrews 12:14

So I had to follow peace with her and I was, when she finally came to me to ask a question, I didn’t snarl up my nose and get all huff and puff with her, I answered her question and smiled – later that day through an email she thanked me for coming over between both workplaces and I thanked her as well for being so knowledgeable of the systems and working because that was a big help in me not being overloaded with two jobs.

In the end; we have to be careful how we entertain people, we will either draw them or leave an impression on them that will forever be a memory in their mind about who we are in which is not that important when it comes down to whom you say you’re representing because, The next person to give their life to Christ, just may be watching how he acts through you!

If he wouldn’t do it to us, then why should we do it to others…

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I’m sure I am not the only one whom has let the cares of life take you by storm and the next thing you know you’re swept away into it’s waves never to be found again….this is depending on how long you decide to let those cares be the driving force in your life. It’s so easy to get “caught up” in the hype of “I’m tired of being the first to always lend a helping hand, I’m tired of always being the one whom has to smile first or I’m tired of always being the one to say “I’m sorry first……For once, I would just like to be like everybody else, doing what I want to do and saying what I want to say, so why can’t I…

Some months ago, that was me – I had let the cares of the world, my job, home, church and everything else to take the ride with me to “I don’t care-ville”. I had allowed my environment to get the best of me, people were used to seeing me smile and have a “happy-go-lucky” attitude no matter what, so much so they even wondered if I ever got mad or upset about anything, so when I was beginning to show another side of me that they had never seen, I began to get questioned about my behavior….anybody that had something to say that was negative, I quickly joined forces with them and became negative too. If someone said they hated work and how disgusted they were to be there; I joined the bandwagon with them and began to hate my work as well, I suddenly began to disassociate myself with the positive-upbeat person that people had become to know, I was now joy riding on the wings of disgust, disappointment and depression for almost 3 weeks until…..

A co-worker of mine approached me, she said Roshonda? Where’s Mary Poppins! At first I was like who? I had heard of Mary Poppins but could not readily put who she was and my association with her in my mind. Just to give you a backstory – Mary Poppins was the nanny to a couple by the name of  Mr.. and Mrs.’s Banks; whom had four children, Jane and Michael; and baby twins John and Barbara. When the children’s nanny, Katie; storms out of their lives, Mary Poppins mysteriously arrived at their home, complete with her traveling carpetbag, blown in by a very strong wind. She accepts the job, and the children soon learn that their nanny, though she is stern, vain, and usually cross, has a magical touch that makes her wonderful.  In the end, Mary Poppins is satisfied with the work she has done with the Banks family, and the West Wind carries her away

So why was my co-worker calling me Mary Poppins? Her version was this – Roshonda, I am not used to seeing you this way, I’m used to you smiling all the time and when I come to your office, it smells so sweet: it literally brightens my day and for a moment, I know that all things are good in the world, I see you as Mary Poppins because you have a joy about you all the time, like her you have an umbrella of happiness spreading it around to everyone. I have to say this shocked me because I did not know that she thought or seen me that way, when she left I began to take inventory of my behavior and simply thought, Lord I let you down. The bible says in : Matthew 5:13-16 “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.

As a Christian, I was not representing God in the best light or  even in the best way, as Christians we have to realize that we are the only bible that a dying world will ever pick up to read and if our inward bible is not on point, then they will put us in a basket with everyone else, if you are proclaiming to be a Christina then you have to do your best no matter what to represent God in the best way….that’s through your giving, your smile, your warm and gentle demeanor, the way you talk, the way you respond, the way you act toward craziness or unpredictable circumstances, we are being looked at and tested in more ways than we realize….If we FAIL, then that means we have not only failed ourselves but we may have failed to lead people to God.

People today are depressed, hurt, suicidal and have the mind set that no one loves them, some even believe that there is no God, they don’t believe he exist. So, we as Christians are supposed to be the examples that he is ALIVE AND WELL! we show this by the way we live on a daily basis. I decided that day to change my mindset about my situation, yes, things get hard and Lord knows they get tough but I have a greater power at work living on the inside of me, in which I ask God daily if my attitude for  that day was pleasing in his sight, because its not about ME but about the soul that is watching me.

So where is my Mary Poppins? she’s right here ready, motivated and willing to serve –  Because greater is he that is within me than he that is within the world. 1 John 4:4

Is Mary Poppins active in your life?

This post is dedicated to all mothers – from the new, to the not so new, to the seasoned and mothers whom are soon to be…

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From the first time a child is placed in its mothers hands. We realize then that those 9 months prior to baby being inside the womb is now a reality in our very arms. We have feelings of awe; amazement and oh how beautiful he or she is along with the reality of “Now I’m a Mother”. But after the newness of everything begins to fade away —- We are faced with the question of what type of mother will I be. Not realizing that the real responsibility of having this child has deeply sunk in. Upon leaving the hospital you are given your child, the arm bracelet that was used to separate them from the other children in the nursery, a couple of diapers, a little milk, some information you need to take to the social security office, a final CONGRATULATIONS!!! And suddenly you’re whisked away in a wheel chair to the car that will escort you and your bundle of joy home.

There are no manuals of the how’s, what’s and what ifs and there’s no paper for a nanny service just in case you get too overwhelmed. You are now a Mother and you have a 5-10Ib responsibility in your possession – life has just begun. If you did not have a prayer life before – It also has just begun for you, the day your child was born. Because now you have more than yourself to pray for, a child is an ever constant circle in our prayer lives and it continues eternally. (It never ceases)

At this point you have no choice about whether or not you will be an influence, because now every action carried out by you will mirror that of your child. But the question is what type of influence “YOU” will choose to be.

About 3 months ago my daughter approached me, she has always told me she wanted to be an author and have wrote a couple of things that have been strolled in and out of notebooks, this time she wanted to try and write a chapter book, but she found herself stuck and couldn’t get past the first couple of pages – she needed a little motivation to keep going, I often tell her – don’t start and stop, keep going you have to be consistent with your writings, don’t give up – why are you always quitting..

So I decided to show her something that I really hadn’t shared with anyone else, I took down all of my writings from the inside of my closet, which has been kept in a torn pouch, inside that pouch are plays, short stories, poems and random thoughts that I have kept over the years, I write something and place it in the pouch on top of the closet shelf…this time since I have a daughter who’s aspiring to write, I figured I would let her read one of the stories that I had written. I felt so proud to see her face go from side to side as she was reading each line, my daughter reading something that I had written, her mother…..not from a book, but she’s actually reading my writing….I was thrilled!

Once she finished she said mama, that was awesome – you are a good writer and while that motivated her to write a couple of more pages to her novel….as I turned to pick up the story and put it back in my torn/worned out pouch – MY HEART SUDDENLY BROKE INTO A MILLION PIECES!

I began to think about the treacherous road I was taking my daughter down, is this the way I am showing her how to live out her dream? “Once you finish that story honey, we’re going to buy you a pouch to put it in and store it on the top shelf of your closet and one day you can show your daughter all of your hard work” – THAT HAS LITERALLY GONE TO WASTE. All my  dreams went to the top of the closet and stayed there and that’s exactly what I was telling my daughter to do with hers, don’t go further – for it stops at the top of the shelf in the closet.

It hit me like a ton of bricks, what was I doing? – This two pound baby whom was born a preemie, this baby whom has depended on me from birth until now, was given by God to a mom with no legacy plan. As I sat there and cried, realizing that I was not only holding my daughter from her dream but I had held myself from my own as well.

What type of Legacy will you leave your child MOM, what gifts/dreams are you storing in your closet, locked away for no one to see. We are our children’s first influence; No TV personality should hold the #1 spot in their lives as being their aspiration; YOU SHOULD! Your child, from the time you bring them home from the hospital is your first FAN, show them how to be successful – show them how to be loved – show them how to be humble – show them how to be the better side of YOU.

You are your child’s first influence, everything you do or teach will be a reflection of you and your child will be there to be the little fish to eat up everything you dish out to them…make sure you are dishing out the right information and please whatever you do – take your gifts down from the closet and share them with your child, because we shouldn’t very well live out our dreams through our children, but they should aspire to live out their dreams through us.

Make sure you give your child all you have; for they are only small once and will grow so fast right before your very eyes….the time you have with them are only for a little while, give them everything that’s inside of you including what’s in your very own closet…

What Legacy are you or will you live out in front of your child?