When I took this picture, my life was falling part. It had been 5 months since I’d left Maryland and arrived in North Carolina. When I couldn’t find work in Raleigh after 3 months & staying with my sister Kelli and her family, I moved to the outskirts of Charlotte with my homegirl, Tomeka.
We each had our own journey, ambitions, and situations. But during that time there, I realized that I wasn’t alone, and I didn’t have to go through “this” alone. I had someone who understood my struggles, who listened to and encouraged me when I needed it most. And someone for whom I could do the same.
When I took this picture, it was the day after my 41st birthday. I was sad. I can see it in my eyes. I know that sounds weird, but as much as I wanted to give up, something wouldn’t let me. I remember feeling this weird combination of fear, hopelessness, and frustration; and at the same time, I just knew everything would be alright.
I couldn’t articulate it then, but looking back, I knew I couldn’t give up because of my faith. My faith in God and His promises. My faith in the dreams and visions I had. Faith in the “seeds” that I had planted over the years, believing that the good that I had sown would yield a crop of blessings.
So, I smiled. Through the pain, reality, circumstances, I smiled. Through the disappointments, the rejections, the denials, and closed doors. I still smiled. Because I remembered something another girlfriend of mine, Alexis, said to me back then: I smile because “I’m still here!”
Regardless of what I was seeing with my natural eyes, my spirit and soul could see so much more for me! And I knew it just had to be better than what I had lost.
Maybe you’re in your “valley season” and it seems like a low time in your life where you can’t see the mountaintop or even the next few steps ahead. Maybe it feels like it just isn’t “your time”; like there’s more for you to do to “earn” your position or blessings. Maybe you’re doubting that you even deserve the happiness and peace that comes along with living out your purpose and vision, because of mistakes you’ve made in the past.
But I would submit to you that even in THIS season, you’re still on the right path. You’re exactly where you should be to get something you need that will serve you in the future.
This “now” season is imperative to your “future” success. What lessons can you learn from where you are now? What can you do differently to change the inevitable outcome of always doing the same thing or making the same choices?
What are you grateful for in this season? What can you appreciate about yourself and how far you’ve come?
What do you see for your future? What good things do you want to have for yourself and your family?
Believe in that vision. Write it down and put it somewhere you’ll see it often.
Believe in yourself. And remember that “gratitude is the foundation for a blessed life.” (If you want to quote me, feel free.) 
Looking back, I realize now that my life WASN’T falling apart. Instead, things were falling into place. There was a reason for that season, and I had to persist so that I could be in position to rebuild better than before; to not just get back what I had lost, but to receive BETTER than what I even thought I wanted.
Just remember 2 things:
1) you’re not alone; and
2) you’re still here 