Live Through It

Life is filled with so many ups and downs Have you ever been there? One day you're smiling, the next day you're fighting To hold back your tears to hide how you feel So tired of faking like everything is ok When you know it's not right No sleep at night.

You may be asking 'cause you never imagined How can this be God? This cannot be God. I can only tell you what he told me

Live through it

Grow through it Get through it You can make it if you just Pray through it Don't let this be the end for you. So live through it

-James Fortune & FIYA

I felt that it was so much more important to begin this one with inspiration instead of doing my usual inspirational quotes/song at the end. Why? Simply because this one is for those, like me, that need encouragement at this very moment, not later. If you are feeling defeated, lost, alone,uncomfortable, scared, and small, I FEEL YOU, TRUST ME! It's ridiculous that I have been feeling so small, so minute, similar to a rollie pollie(pill bug). I've done a lot of searching within to figure out why I have been feeling this way and what I came to understand is that I was exhausted, I lacked motivation/inspiration, and my spirit man was weak. I have been going through a lot of internal battles as well as external battles within my life. Has it been easy? By any means, NO! The greatest part about it, though, is that this is not the end. Mark my words...THIS IS ONLY THE BEGINNING!

*sighs now to the sappy part*

Life is so tough & emotional damage is real. It comes from family, friends, lovers, and the crazy situations that some have no control over. As an adult, the well-used phrase "Life goes on" means so much more to me than it ever has. Life really does go on, which is why you have to prepare yourself and stay ready for what is to come. A tough realization that I had to come to in life was that you simply can not change or control people. If they want to, THEY WILL. Nothing will stop them. Think about it, if you want you, you will, right? Same rules apply and there is no excuse. Don't beat yourself up about who doesn't give not two cares about you. It is not your loss that they don't care either. It may feel difficult to understand why, but that is not for you to figure out either. Just trust that you did the best that you could do and that your heart and intentions have always been pure from the beginning. DO NOT and I repeat DO NOT FOCUS ON WHAT OR WHO ISN'T IN YOUR LIFE. Love, appreciate, and value the ones that are with everything in you, because you have just what you need. God has an interesting way of removing people that mean you no good. He removes them because he is our protection, he won't let anything hurt his child. Now granted, with me saying that, you might be questioning why some situations that hurt you happened in your life. Remember that we have a free will. Some situations God will allow for a greater purpose, while others we actually brought upon ourselves by not getting God's approval first. Where I am in life...I am sorting out what has happened in my life, the reasoning behind it all, and moving forward and not allowing the story to repeat. During this process, you feel EVERYTHING that you didn't feel when the situations happened. It is a continuing process that comes with good and bad, sometimes the bad outweighs the good, but I am promised that this is not for long.

Please understand that the one who hurt you will never be the one to heal you. Separate yourself as needed and heal in peace, please. Don't prolong your healing process any longer than you already have. Once you are completely healed, it is then up to you if you want to allow that person back into your life, but remember that you really don't have to. YOU OWE NOTHING TO NO ONE. Use that power and strength that the pain and struggle has caused you to take control of your life. Know that you have the ability to change environments as needed because it is your life. Turn that pain, hurt, disappointment, and grief into something so beautiful. Either you do this, or stay stuck in your hurt. Don't you dare allow hurt and the cares of life to stop your purpose. Our worst enemy ultimately is our self because we have what we want to happen and how we want it to happen embedded in our minds. Like the song says, the only option that you have is to live through it. The most encouraging words that my pastor once said was "When you're in the midst of a storm, the worst thing you can do is stop, keep going, keep going because that storm won't last forever and on the other side is victory."

I have to constantly remind myself to keep going. Are there days when I don't feel like it? YES! The only option that we have is to live through it and keep on pushing. There is a greater purpose that God has destined us for. We have goals to achieve, and nobody else is going to get them done but us. If you are like I was going through a dry spell lacking faith and motivation, GET YOURSELF TOGETHER, PICK YOURSELF UP, KEEP GOING, AND NEVER GIVE UP.