The pictures above and below courtesy of pexels and bing

Did I tell you that last week I woke up in the middle of the night, crying my eyeballs out! I was so emotional and for some reason or another, that week just seemed to be a rollercoaster ride of them all because I was feeling some type a way about something that I honestly couldn’t control – ever been there??

Going to work the following day, no one would’ve even guessed or imagined that I had that bout of sadness, I guess it’s because I’m so used to trying to be the smile or the light for others to see – but what happens when I need a smile or a light and no one’s there to give it back to me – What happens when I, HOLD UP – let me capitalize it “EXPECT” people to do things for me because I loyal in doing something for them; is it wrong for me to expect that same loyalty back in return? What happens when I don’t get it?

Have u ever went above and beyond to do good for someone, but found yourself not getting that same dedication back in return?

Let me just say, I’ve been there more times than I’d like to admit and I found myself literally having a pity party over it – I wanted people to put the same heart, time and effort into doing for me, as I did for them. However; my hopes, dreams, and fantasies of wanting this to be so, was NOT so!

There’s a scripture in the bible that says “”Do to others whatever you would like them to do to you.”  Matthew 7:12 (NLT). I can’t tell you how long I’ve misunderstood this verse, because in my mind – I was doing for others with the anticipation that they would and should ((let me be transparent and honest here)) do to ME! I mean, look at what I was doing or had done for them.

But, God gave me a revelation of that scripture in my “pouty” breakdown that night and it goes like this: Do for others, the way you yourself would like to be treated and handled; be the light! That’s how you must conduct your business when it comes to someone else, does that make sense? It’s not about what people can do for you in return because of what you did for them; it’s more about “how” you would like to overall see people treated because in doing so, we’re actually displaying Gods love in which was a FREE for all who wanted it.

I mean, look at it this way…..

Jesus had 12 disciples who were supposed to have his back, right? Just because they were walking with someone who was perfect, didn’t mean that they were. They all let Jesus down “BIG” time!! Peter loved him and denied him, so much so he went into a cursing fit. Judas betrayed him and felt bad later, so much so – he hung himself. Matthew was a cheater and no telling what hurts, habits and hang-ups the others had (you know everything wasn’t written in scripture) and you know the saddest thing of it all??- when Jesus needed them the most they slept on him.  Here he was in the garden of Gethsemane balling his eyes out and sweating up a storm because he knew he was about to die. I can only imagine the pain he must’ve been feeling at that time – the agony, the factor of just wanting someone to comfort him and no one was available, even after all the things he had done, the people he had helped and the miracles he had performed; in the end when he needed someone the most, no one was there but his heavenly father.

Does this remind you of some of the people you deal with today? Friends, Family, co-workers, acquaintances and so forth. So you might ask, well what does all of this mean? It means that everyone’s NOT going to be there for us or have our backs – if Jesus experienced it and got over it, so can WE!

My mother used to say “It’s not what they do to you – It’s what you do to THEM! – Greater is he that’s within us than he that’s within the world. 1 John 4:4. I don’t know if you’ve experienced any of this before but I just want you to know that even in my dreadful moments; God was there and he dried my tears away. I know it’s hard sometimes to think on the “positive” side when you’re feeling down – but when God brought to my mind what he had been through, with his own friends. It made me realize that I wasn’t alone.

I reached out to my friend and she shared a powerful message with me – Read it and use it to step over the pouting and crying hurdles in your life – Use it to help move you ahead and continue treating people the way “God” intends for us to treat them, no matter what and that’s with great, deep-seated, unjudging (((( LOVE )))) 

My Friend Shanae’s text message is below but first (a little backstory as to why I texted her) The pouty night I had was a result over the concerns I had with my new faith-based book “Billy Wolf and the Kids of Heavenly Hills Elementary” and how people weren’t responding as I thought they should’ve, people (a.k.a friends) that I thought would have my back and buy the book, didn’t. I also had concerns about the people that purchased the book, people whom I asked to leave a positive review after reading it but they didn’t leave a review at all, even to this day. Afterwhile, my emotions took over and I began to think that maybe I wrote a horrible book that people really hated but was too afraid to tell me!!!

Suddenly, the feel-good emotion I had with writing it became feelings of insecurity and regret, I began to doubt myself and wanted to pull the book from the shelf. So, I texted Shanae and asked: “Sis tell me the truth, Is my book bad??”  and this is what she wrote back: 

“Yes, I understand how frustrating that is. Especially when you think people are going to support in a certain way. I’ve learned that many people will get the book but never read it. Buying it is their way of supporting. And yes, its super difficult to get people to actually read it because that requires them to slow down and focus on something other than their own stuff. Don’t stress yourself out over the reviews or getting people to read it. God has blessed you with this work and those that are called to read and review will do it without the hassle. Try not to harbor any animosity toward them and stop asking. Forgive them if they never do it and move forward with your promo etc. Your book is great and those that read it will be blessed greatly.”

No matter what gift or dream you have. Don’t give up on it – Sometimes you’ll hear crickets before you hear an applause. Keep doing what you’re doing – IT REALLY IS GOOD! Take it from ME! –