SL Life Lessons: Stir It Up

When sand is poured into a glass, it settles at the bottom. The sand will remain dormant until something stirs the water with such force that it causes the sand to surface.

During one of the most difficult challenges in my life, I felt led to focus my energy on protecting God’s greatest creation, the human body. I decided to share my fitness journey via a testimonial that I titled “Fit at 40+”. As I wrote, one page turned to ten pages, turned to fifty pages. Over 100 pages later, Body Under Construction was born. In the midst of one of the most challenging times in my life, I’d done something I’d never planned or imagine. Author a book.

A couple of years later, I’d find myself facing another life challenge. The pressures of this challenge made everyday seem dark. It was difficult to sleep at night and tough to wake in the morning. As I sat in my basement praying about my challenging situation, I suddenly thought of my mother, Sodonia. How, with limited finances, she was able to raise my sister and I in the South Bronx. The recollection of what she was able to do as a single parent with limited income gave me a sense of hope. I then remembered how she did the seemingly impossible. Take my sister and I on a 3-day, cross-country, Greyhound bus ride to pursue my sister’s dream of meeting Michael Jackson and the Jackson 5. A journey that culminate in a 2-day visit at the home of the world-famous group. As I recalled the journey that led to the gate of the Jackson’s Hayvenhurst estate, I became hopeful, encouraged and inspired. I felt led to pen the details of this true and timeless inspirational story to give others the hope and encouragement the story had given me. I’d never planned or imagine writing one book. Yet, in the midst of a challenging situation, I’d author a second book, Journey to the Jacksons

Many of life’s challenges are uncomfortable. Some even painful. Nevertheless, just as sand sitting dormant at the bottom of a glass can be stirred to the surface, life’s challenges can often stir up talents, gifts and abilities that have been sitting dormant for years.