It's funny how you say you'd never do something and God reveals His plan to you. As I'm writing this post, I'm sitting in my Dad's living room surrounded by family and I couldn't be happier. My sister is on my left and my brother is on my right. We just ate BBQ for dinner and I've been wanting some for as long as I've lived in Jacksonville. This is exactly what I needed. If you haven't realized it by now, I just moved back home to Miami, Florida. If you would've asked me if this was in my grand life plan, I would've certainly laughed in your face.
This isn't a cute, sponsored post. This is my real life; and the peace and freedom I have right now has led me to share this part of my story with you. A while ago, I wouldn't have been as open as I am. I tend to move in silence and share as needed. Initially, it was out of fear and embarrassment. Now it is for self preservation. I still move in silence but I'm sharing a bit more because I want to encourage someone today. I know there's someone who may have felt like me. You wonder what people may think about what you're doing with your life. I don't care about that anymore. I care that you see the God in me through my story and realize that life is an unpredictable journey that requires faith and effort on your behalf.
I was very adamant about not moving back home. I felt like there was nothing here. Like I was taking a step back, as if I was finished with things. Little did I know, I needed to be in Jacksonville to get away from any and every distraction that was back home and work on myself. It was kind of like a retreat. A 5 year self reflecting retreat, but a retreat nonetheless. While in Jacksonville, I was basically on my own. I did the core work. The hard stuff. Life was staring me in my face and as I looked in the mirror I had a decision to make: be in denial, neglect growth, and stay in the same place I was in or plant the seed, do the work, and bloom. I chose the latter.
My action word for 2019 is COURAGE. It took a lot of courage to do what was necessary to make my life better for me. As we become fairly close to the halfway mark of this year, I want you to understand that in the blink of an eye things can change. Mentally, spiritually, physically, and emotionally. In your relationships, career, and life in general. All because you had the courage to make a decision to change. I didn't realize until just now that the end of 2018 was preparing me for the shift this year. Once I made the decision to let God lead, be more positive, and work on myself things began to change for the better. I still fail, forget, and fall short, but with more grace and gratitude from lessons learned.
Just know, I worked really hard to get where I am in my life right now. You can too and in doing so I want to leave you with this:
Have the courage to take a leap of faith into the unknown. I had no idea what my life would be like in Jacksonville but I'm glad I moved there. Once you leap, there's no turning back. You'll know the feeling. You literally have a fight or flight feeling daily. It's like you tell yourself that you can rest or take a break but you can never go back to being your old self. Really take the time to do the work for YOU. The decisions YOU make shape YOUR life. It will be hard, scary, intense, and painful. But you'll come out of it a better person. Take control of your life. Yes, God is in control but you have to do something too. Own every decision, good and bad. Accept experiences as they come. Heal, learn, share. and remove anything that does not bring your peace. Be kind to yourself but also be100% real and find out what will truly rock your world. Whatever decisions you make, make sure they make you happy. You literally have one life to live so why not start today by making it the best one yet?!
To all of my friends and family, thank you for all of the love, support, positivity, and encouragement you all have given me. I'm so very thankful. To believe in yourself is once thing but to have someone else believe in your dream too is monumental. Keep in mind, this was after I came to terms with the decision for myself. Only you can do the work. You have to convince yourself what you're doing is solid before you can convince anyone else. And if you don't have a tribe of people to back you up, it's ok. There was and still is a lot of solitude. Remember you're the driving force behind it all. Only you can steer things in the right direction.
There may be a small break while I get things together now that I'm back home but I'm looking forward to continue sharing each phase of my life! The style, beauty, and inspirational blog posts will continue, along with some new things like food, family, and fun! Thank you for traveling along with me on my journey to define my (life) style and create my image!