Here is another awesome post that I found amongst my Facebook memories.
Facebook memory – December 22, 2018
In response to a quote by xonecole: “Don’t go back to less because you’re too impatient to wait for more,” I wrote:
Happy Saturday!! Here’s today’s social media find. As Joe [from Tyler Perry’s Madea movies] would say, “Don’t do it. Don’t do it.” Don’t you dare look back and miss out on what’s to come! Believe me, God is working. He’s ALWAYS working! Now, do your part and be patient.🤗 Y’all be blessed.💕 Wait. God’s got you. Your blessing is coming. Don’t look back. Don’t settle. Goals for 2019.
Well, 2019 was a year of so many highs and lows – moments of happiness, anger, euphoria, sadness, loss and depression. It is one year of my life that I absolutely hate revisiting. But as you can see from my post in 2018, it was also one I was so looking forward to. Little did I know, those high, euphoric moments would help me through some of the worst moments in my life.
Now, here I am three years later, still not settling, refusing to go back to what was, and moving forward. And yes, I am still waiting for whatever and whoever God has planned for my future as well as to fulfill His purpose. Without a doubt, I know the best is yet to come. As Bishop T. D. Jakes often says, what God has for you will not be found in what you left behind. It will be found in what is in front of you. Eyes forward.
God’s got me.
Thanks for reading! Wishing you and your families peace and joy.
Yes, this is my second time writing today. Had to get this off my chest and see if anyone can help me understand, “Why?”. Why is it so difficult for some – not going to say most or all – men to dissociate their child from the child’s mother? Here’s my story:
After several attempts at watching Christopher Nolen’s A Christmas Wish, I finally finished it. For me, it was unbelievably difficult to watch because I felt like I was the mom in the story having to provide for a child without conditional financial assistance from the father. You see, the father (ex-husband) in the story refused to pay child support, but said he would provide everything the child needed if and when she asked. This was the first issue I had. The next was the father’s plea to the mom – “Why don’t you let me take care of you? You know I still love you.” Which brings me back to my original question, why is it so difficult for men to see the mother and child as two separate individuals? Why couldn’t he take care of the child without associating it with his love for the mom?
After I had my daughter, I refused to ask her father for child support. I was not going to beg him to take care of his child. Plus, just like the father in the movie, he kept saying he wanted to take care of both of us. He wanted us to be together. But he was already with someone else. And when I refused, he decided not to provide for her. He told me if I needed anything, to just ask. Well, I didn’t. I believed if he wanted to take care of her he would do it on his own. I mean, mothers don’t have a choice. We do it whether the father is around or not. Well, after a couple of years of my mom telling me I needed to put my pride aside and seek support for my daughter, I did. I filed for child support before I left for Turkey. The agency reported that they were not able to locate him. Then a few months after arriving in Turkey, I received a letter from him stating if I wanted support, he was going to seek joint custody. My daughter was three years old and had never laid eyes on him nor spoken to him. Not because I would not allow it, but because I chose not to be with him. Y’all, he never even spoke to my baby!From birth, I kept him and his parents informed about her progress. I sent pictures. I wrote letters and neither him nor his family made an effort to have a relationship with her. So there was no way I was going to give him joint custody just to receive a check. So, I chose to raise her on my own.
Fast forward to today and my now ex. Almost the exact same scenario. I’m not going to lie, it hurts. Never in a million years did I expect it from him because he knew what I went through with my daughter’s father. So yeah, watching the movie was very difficult. The pain is still very fresh. In the movie, the little girl’s wish was for them to be a family again on Christmas Day, and of course it happened. Well, up until two years ago, I did the family Christmas thing, but ended it because it only gave my ex false hope of us getting back together. Before the next Christmas rolled around, I informed my son that we were no longer going to spend Christmases together. This was also after finally being granted the divorce after over four years of waiting. And guess what? My son was actually okay with it.
Even though it took me several attempts to get through the movie, I did it. It may seem insignificant to you, but it’s an accomplishment for me. Y’all, I really didn’t think I could do it. It hurt too badly. At times I found myself yelling at the television begging the mom not to take him back. Yeah, it was painful to watch.
Here is my takeaway from the movie, or what I needed to come to terms with. Yes, some people settle for package deal because that is what works for them. And guess what? It’s okay. Me, I did not accept the package deal so I must accept the consequences of my actions. Lastly, I have to let it go. My son is 18 and my daughter is 26. There has never been a time in their lives that I was not able to provide for them or did not ask for help when I really needed it. I can no longer beat myself up over the relationship/lack of relationship they have with their fathers because I chose not to accept the package deal. Yes, it’s time for me to let it go.
After I had my daughter, I would often ask her father why he could not take care of her without taking care of me. He said because he loved me and all of us should be together. I’m still bewildered.
Last weekend I was in some kind of mood. I kept crying. I felt lonely (but didn’t want to be bothered- lol). I was fed up with school and didn’t feel like completing an assignment. I mean, I was feeling some type of way. Then God began to remind me of His goodness and blessings. At first I wanted to stay in that funk (yes, I was having a real good pity party😆), but it didn’t last long. God let me know that I had so much more ahead of me. I just had to take the first step towards moving forward. That step was to acknowledge His greatness. It’s amazing what can happen when we acknowledge God for who He is– OMNIPOTENT! Whew!!💃🏽 As Pastor [Joel] Osteen says, your chapter doesn’t end here. Turn the page! PUSH: Pray Until Something Happens
What a word!! So, this particular chapter did not end as expected. It’s okay. Please let go and turn the page. God has already blown your mind many times before. Just imagine what He has waiting in your next chapter.
Of course you will never know if you don’t Turn The Page!
As always, thank you for reading. Wishing you a wonderfully, blessed week!
There is no way I can go into another relationship broken. I must realize there is no knight in shining armor to rescue me from myself.
Journal Entry, December 12, 2014
Whew! What a statement! “. . . there is no knight in shining armor to rescue me from myself.”
Several weeks ago, I watched an Oprah interview with Will Smith. It was about the release of his new memoir, WILL. Y’all, before the interview was over, I had already preordered his book. Much of what he said during his interview resonated with me so much that I just had to hear more!
Like Will, I’m a dreamer and a lover. I have always envisioned my life playing out a certain way. In his book, he mentioned Dallas was one of this favorite nighttime soap operas when he was younger. He said he always wanted to own a ranch like Southfork and imagined his wife riding up to the family house on her horse. Listen, that was me. I had the same dream. I was the wife. I was Sue Ellen. Lol. As we know, real life is not scripted. We have to factor in others’ feelings, desires, wants, needs and dreams. And most of the time theirs are different from ours. I believe when we fail to embrace people for who they are, our beautifully, scripted dreams become tarnished, which eventually leads to unnecessary heartache and disappointment.
When I got married, like Will, I had this picture in my head of how my marriage would be. In other words, I had created my own fairytale. You see, the story began years earlier with both of us in his aunt’s wedding (true story). We were in the wedding picture – he was the ring bearer and I was a flower girl. Perfect set up, right? So when we were reintroduced 20 years later, I was like, “This is it! This is my story.” After two months of talking on the phone and me imagining this 6’3, built dude on the other end, we finally met. He was not what I had imagined. And I am pretty sure I wasn’t what he had imagined either. Sadly, he did not have my heart, he only had my imagination. Instead of me letting go, I felt too embarrassed and obligated to see things through. Plus I was obsessed with my crazy timeline. So I got married.
Even in the marriage, I kept imagining how things could be. I was going to be Donna Stone or June Cleaver (both were homemakers on old sitcoms). Unlike them, I was a professional; however, I still imagined myself as the loving, supportive wife and homemaker. Then reality hit. He kept saying he was not happy. For the longest I could not figure out why he was not happy. I thought I was being a “good” wife. But in actuality I was just playing a role. My heart was not there. Years later, around the time I wrote my journal entry (2014), he told me he always knew I didn’t love him but chose to marry me anyway believing one day I would fall in love with him. Hmm.. sounds like Aaron from one of my favorite shows, Tyler Perry’s Sistas. Anyhoo, it never happened.
Back to my opening statement. There is no knight in shining amor who can rescue Shaun from the fairytale. Only Shaun can rescue Shaun. Will’s memoir was the perfect reminder. Life is not perfect and people are not created to live as characters inside our world. Do I still want a life similar to Sue Ellen (nah.. she was an alcoholic and JR was hell), Donna or June? Honestly, with the exception of Sue Ellen, absolutely! Donna and June weren’t just tv characters. They were Madear and Momma Kate. They were the women I spent most of my time with as a little girl. It’s them that I dreamt of becoming.
Last night, I told the kids that I am already living the life I have always imagined. No, there is no Alex, Ward, Big Daddy (Robert Campbell) or Mr. Sonny Mane (William Moore). There’s only me, my children and God, and I am absolutely loving life. Even without a husband, I am already living the life I have always dreamed. I guess you can say, I’m finally, finally free!
It’s Shaun’s World 
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