The Blessing...

Well, I'm sure many of you are thinking what that title above is about and why do I want to hear about someone else's blessings? I have to let you in on something, I used to read stuff about other people being blessed and it made me cringe! Especially when I was going through a hardship and feeling so forgotten in my life. It made me down right nasty about any type of blessings happening. I guess you can say that God had to intervene over my negative thoughts and put me through some situations that made me grow the blazes up! I finally learned why I was so put off by seeing that word associated to another person's situation and not mine...it was because my heart was closed and I didn't understand what a blessing was. I had wandered far away from God. I guess His blessings either couldn't reach me or my heart dismissed them due to me knowing I had some trash to take out of my life concerning some stupid decisions. Probably both and then some.

To get off that soap box and onto the purpose for this blog, it's to help women, men, young versions of myself, to never give up and reassure them that not only is our God very real, but His blessings surround us. Only thing is that we must not dismiss or disregard them by distancing ourselves from Him, but rather embrace everything, even the bad that happens to us and receive it as a blessing. Right now you probably want to hurl something at your screen and hit the back button, thinking this chic... here we go with some unrealistic nonsense about being grateful while getting my heart and dreams stomped on but smiling like Ms. America the whole time! Really!?

WAIT!!!! Don't hit that back space yet!!! Here is some heart and dream stompin' reality for you in 3...2...1.

When I first started the shift in my business from landscaping to construction, my very 1st client was a lady that I had considered a family type friend. I took care of her mother after she broke her hip. I was her caretaker. Then after her mother died I went in and painted and staged her house with my hubby and son right by my side helping and doing hard work. Her house sold fast and the new buyers, loved my decor and design.

This situation ended in shock. I saw a side of her that I never knew existed... it blew me away and challenged me spiritually. I started questioning that transition I was making.

I moved on and did a job for another client and then another client, they seemed very happy and were honest people that were also a type of friend. Nothing bad happened, they loved my work and were grateful for it. I guess you could say my faith in people was restored in a way.

Until this curve ball hit.

A job I did toward the end of 2018 was one that I am extremely grateful for because I learned so much by experiencing it. This was a lady that I loved like a sister. My family and I bailed her out of so many mishaps, things she didn't even know about. I truly cared for this individual. She trusted us so much we had keys to both of her homes, she had her mail sent to my house when she bought her investment house that she wanted to flip. We also went in and started the grueling process of removing popcorn ceilings and fecal matter filled carpet from a cat or cats, throughout the entire house. After giving her a bid, she took it back to her brother who was also a shared investor of this property as well. She came back with an email of the national average of what we should be charging them... no phone call or text just this stupid email that showed the inexperience of both individuals. Everyone in the industry knows a national average is not a set state to state price for a job...SMH! Anyway, she had thanked us for our hard work numerous times in person and on a Christmas gift she had sent....That was before the final invoice was forwarded. This woman and her brother not only refused to pay us but slammed our work, bad mouthed us and had the nerve to invoice me. Talk about a spiritual challenge!!! I wanted to revert back to my beat some one down days quick but God told me very intently to leave it alone and let Him deal with it. I was angry, hurt and ... did I mention angry! Right before Christmas too! I did listen to God and I'm sure He is handling it and will continue to. I read this scripture and it reminded me to surrender it over to Him and I still refer to it. It's in Jeremiah 17:11 It reads- "Like a partridge that hatches eggs it did not lay are those who gain riches by unjust means. When their lives are half gone, their riches will desert them, and in the end they will prove to be fools."

This passage of scripture along with the mishaps, showed me that whether I have 50k in my account or 50 cents, I am blessed. Whether everything goes my way or the odds are stacked up against me, I'm blessed. See, being blessed is a decision and a lifestyle that can only be provided from the maker of our souls. Whether people agree with you or disagree with you, you are blessed when you are His. I have grown to see "The Blessing" in all types of things and situations that before would have gotten the best of me. I now see that through those situations, another layer of spiritual strength has been unveiled and a gift in the form of a talent was given... The Blessing. So my point on airing that load of laundry, is to show you that when the hard stuff happens and you are trying with everything you have to get your dream off of the ground, you will run into people who may cause you to re-think yourself or what you are doing. That is where faith plays a big role in things. You are blessed by a Father who loves you enough to have planned for that situation in your life. By having faith, you are placing the situation with Him, even though you still feel ill about it but continutine to press on. He then exposes a talent that you didn't even know you had. That talent is a gift and only is unveiled during that particular hardship. Just as Walt Disney kept hitting walls of betrayal with close associates and business, he kept going. By doing that his ideas and creations kept growing and now, we all see what Disney is.

Don't give up and talk often to God. He knows what you need before you ask and if your faith in Him is strong, you will get what it is you ask for...in the form that only comes from Him and at the right time.