My life. My world. Love, hope, & happiness.
The quote below was taken from a book of encouraging words my mom had written a while back. Thought I would also include guidance and patience because all three are definitely needed—strength, guidance, and patience.♥️ ~Shaun
Many, many moons ago, I ended my Yahoo emails with the following message:
Trust + Patience = Peace
Circa 2013/2014
“Enjoy Life 💖”
Never once considered that would be the message I would live by.
Trust: I trust God’s love, guidance, and protection. I know He has me in His hands. I’m covered.
Patience: Whew! Never knew I could be so patient, but God did.
Peace: There is nothing like it. I was right. Trust and patience, together, lead to peace.
and…
That last part… “Enjoy Life💖” is my daily goal. Life is short, and I try my best not to waste time in negative spaces or feelings.
Y’all, I am so grateful and blessed that God loves me. He leaves behind the tiniest of gems for me to find when they are needed the most. It’s those gems that keep me trusting Him and His word. It’s those gems that keep me going.♥️
Welcome to my world…
Shaun
Earlier I shared, “Here I Am.”
Five years ago (March 26, 2019), I wrote the following in my journal:
“Today is the day we separated for good. I can’t believe it’s been four years. Four years. Didn’t think I’d make it four years off of patience.”
Actually, it was patience and a lot of prayer that got me through that time.
Just the day before—March 25, 2019—I was finally able to sign the divorce papers. It had been four long years of me patiently waiting for everything to work out. Of me trying not to rock the boat. Of me being kind, thoughtful and considerate. Yeah… I was all of that. Four years of suffering in silence; biting my tongue; allowing others (those who I thought loved me) treat me like trash for deciding to divorce a “good man” (their words). For deciding to listen to what God had been telling me to do for years, but I was too afraid to. I was never supposed to marry him, yet I did. I knew this. Tried to explain this, only to be treated like I was the most horrible person on earth. So, I waited. I waited four years for him to come to terms with the fact that we were actually divorcing. His lawyer said he was finally ready. I was so happy. Signed the papers, and he refused to sign them. Y’all, I had never experienced anger in my life until that point. Never… and I had had some pretty messed up stuff happen to me before then. However, I never got to the point of anger, until then. Whew!!
As I shared earlier today—I am here, and I am still standing! Y’all, what was meant to destroy me did not take me out! I made it!!!
Forever grateful for God’s love, mercy, and grace. I made it!♥️
Shaun
Love today’s memory. It’s a reminder that waiting is so necessary. Most of the time we do not understand why we have to wait. However, if we are not careful, and make moves before we receive God’s approval, things will not go as smoothly as they would have if we would have waited, or they will not work out at all.
From my experience, waiting is part of the growing season. Looking back over my life, I can see how things played out when I was impatient and did not wait on God versus when I waited (not always patiently, smile) on God. Boy is there a big difference! I can see where my impatience caused me to have quite a few unfavorable experiences—unfavorable but not always terrible. Some were actually fun! Just saying. Yeah, they were fun but they costed me time, resources, and emotional distress—things I cannot recover—and delayed blessings. However, with that being said, those experiences were not wasted. They were lessons that taught me the importance and benefits of patience and waiting.
Today, I can say the lessons are paying off. Y’all, my patience has help me persevere through some crazy times. Times when I have wanted to step out of God’s will and do things on my own. The waiting period has allowed me time to grow, to get to know myself better, to become more focused, and to make better decisions. So thankful for both.
Facebook Memory: February 3, 2023
If your answer is WAIT, do not lift a finger before God tells you to move. He does not need your help with making things move along faster. Everything that is meant to happen WILL happen according to His plan and timing. So, wait.. with patience.♥️
Wishing you a wonderful weekend! Remember to show yourself some love.
Love you,
Shaun
Facebook Memory: January 22, 2022 (image slightly modified)
Dreams and goals don’t magically appear nor do they happen overnight. They require effort, work, patience and time.
Shaun
Here is what I shared earlier on my social media platforms:
God is forever working behind the scenes on our behalf. Our job is to be patient and trust Him while He works, even when we don’t see anything happening. Eventually, everything will work out in our favor, and it will be better than we imagined.♥️
Moment of transparency…
Since the end of June 2022, I had been struggling to secure contracts as an independent consultant. Even applying for jobs did not work. Then, in August of that year, my mom had a stroke and I became her primary caregiver. Even though I was with her 24/7, I was still looking for work (even remotely) and nothing panned out. I kept hearing to rest and just spend time with her. That I had enough to sustain me. I did not need more.
Sadly, it wasn’t until almost the end of her life that I actually understood what was meant by resting and spending time with her. I am so grateful I eventually listened. I needed that time with her.
After she passed last May, seemed like nothing was working in my favor. Everything was just “blah.” And it was also during this time that I was experiencing the greatest spiritual pruning of my lifetime. I mean, I did ask for this side of 50 to be different. I just did not know what that entailed. Basically, patience, trust, faith, hope, and endurance. Lots of endurance!
By the end of last year, I had completely surrendered control to God because nothing I attempted to do was working—nothing. And that’s when things began to change. I started receiving job offers out of the blue. I felt like Celie in The Color Purple after she found Nettie’s letters. There were so many of them. Unfortunately, most were not a true match but I kept an open mind.
Fast forward to today. I just secured another contract as an independent consultant. God is so good!
Listen, even when things appear to be falling apart, they are actually falling in place. Most of the time it happens when we cannot feel or see God working. As I stated earlier, our job is to be patient and trust Him to work things out in our favor. Amen
God’s got us!♥️
Shaun
It’s Shaun’s World 
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