Overflow and Gratitude

Sunday, October 19 while in worship, thinking of the goodness of God, I was overcome with emotion. Later that evening, I was forced to clear out some of my files for additional storage and came across this reminder. It was a letter from the court stating that my debt was paid via wage garnishment.

This was during one of the critical periods of my life. My divorce was just finalized August 2012. The separation and chain of events and decisions leading up to that put me in a tight financial situation. I write about this in my book, A Conversation With The Little Girl.

"With a baby to take care of, on top of my mortgage, condo association fees, and other expenses, finances were tight."

While sitting in church this past Sunday as we sang, "You are the source of my strength. You are the strength of my life." I could not help but to raise my hands in gratitude as the tears overflowed. All I could do is yell out Thank You!

As I reflected on this period of my life I know it was only by God's grace and mercy that I made it through. I thought of the angels He put in my path like my mother's neighbor Mrs. Rose who would give me bags of gently used clothes her daughter could no longer wear (some with tags still on it). I used the clothes for my daughter which helped me to save money. I thought of how God blessed me with creativity, talents and abilities to earn extra money through small business and side hustles. I thanked God for blessing my hands to do a little something something with my own hair and my daughter's hair in between. I thanked God for regulating my mind to continue to show up for work, sit in difficult meetings with difficult personalities, even with the additional stress I had going on in my personal life. I thanked God for the courage to eventually ask for the deserved increase in my salary and equitable pay at work.

The stress and mental turmoil of what I went through was real. But looking at me from the outside you would have never known what I had gone through and what I was going through. Eventually it caught up to me, compacted by other traumatic and painful experiences that impacted my mental and physical health.

This why Community 247 is important to me. Your support helps women and children recovering from all forms of abuse or hardship. Knowing firsthand the impact, we are developing a Rental Support Program that will provide short-term financial assistance to families experiencing financial hardship. Our Basket Blessings Program helps to offset expenses for women transitioning from shelters into new homes. Your tax-deductible donation can help another mother like Mrs. Rose and many others helped me. Because when you've been blessed, you pass it on.