You are impactful when you are imperfect. 

You are powerful when you still have pain.

You are pretty when your life looks messy. 

You are worthy when you’ve yet to obtain the prize.

If you wait until you have it all figured out to start using the gifts God has given you, you may end up being too old and without any remaining strength to make a difference. 

Trial and error are apart of growth. Get out there and live! You are going to fall down. You are going to suffer losses. You are going to have regrets. You will make mistakes. Wounds hurt. You’ll bleed. 

But the only losers are those who quit. Life is about risks. Letting go is a risk. Moving forward is a risk. Sometimes you will succeed, and sometimes you will fail. Regardless, you will learn. And I promise you, if your heart was set to do good, even your mistakes will find grace resting upon them, and God will make right your wrongs. 

You must realize that setbacks are essential for setups. Setbacks evoke comebacks, and everyone loves a good comeback story, right?! Create yours. Be your own hero. Make your life the greatest championship you have ever entered, and then…

win! 🏆 👑 

You don’t win by being perfect. You win when you love yourself enough to not settle for less than what you know God has destined you to achieve. There will be violent cuts along the way. But those that see your worth WILL attempt to rise to your standards. If they truly love you, they will meet you on the climb and be determined to make it with you. If they don’t, they weren’t meant to enjoy the view from your summit. They have a different mountain to climb. 

Sometimes, you must accept and realize when someone has not pre-conditioned themselves to handle your level of spiritual and mental athletism. Perhaps their destiny isn’t yours. Trust me, if they love you enough, they’ll try to keep up. They’ll fight to make the climb with you. And if they can’t, you’ll have to make those incredibly difficult choices along the way to your destined position. You may be forced to decide to either stay with them on their mountain or cut the chord so you can see the view at the top of yours. Who knows, maybe in your finding the courage to release the person who is holding you back, it will give them the enhanced motivation to train harder so they can catch up! 

Look, every good climber gets a little dirty on the hike. A trek through the wilderness leads to a disheveled appearance. Life is quite the task, my friends. You won’t always get it right the first go around the mountain, but if you apply your heart to wisdom and understanding, God and all His angels WILL give it to you. Ask for the Holy Spirit of God to help you along the journey. Ask Him to send the right people to surround you, not the ones who limit you, disempower you, or who don’t even have the vision to see where you are destined to arrive. Ask God to send you His ordained helpers, those who can partner with you, are on the same journey, who love it as much as you, and who can encourage you along the way.

And then you must also realize, there are some roads to the summit that are so narrow, only one set of footprints can stain the path. Some roads must be walked alone. And that’s ok too. It’s part of the journey. The wise understand this. You must have the foresight to know when your road is narrowing and the person trying to squeeze their way onto the road with you won’t fit! Don’t let them smother you and for God’s sake, don’t let their incessant need to be beside you push you off the side of the cliff. Some paths only have room for you and God. 

Also know, those narrowing moments usually come in the pressing place, in your Garden of Gethsemane, and on your road to Golgatha. Those are the moments just before the full surrender, just before the denying of self, just before the cross, just before the burial of what was, and the resurrection of what is coming. 

The disciples in the Bible were men who had given up everything to follow Jesus. They had given up their livelihoods, their careers, their family, and even their marital relations. They could not have left for three years and still run a business back home. Following Jesus meant going wherever Jesus went, however Jesus went, and whenever Jesus went. They traveled on boats, on seas, hiked through deserts, and through dry and sometimes dangerous places. 

The disciples suffered and made difficult decisions and sacrifices to follow Jesus. They did this partly because they thought Jesus was going to establish His kingdom, and they would be His cabinet. They kept waiting on Him to overthrow Caesar’s influence over Jerusalem. As they got closer to the end, their discipleship was tested. Discipleship is rooted in discipline, and it is tested when things don’t go the way you think they are supposed to go. It’s not hard to be a disciple when you are getting what you think you are supposed to receive. However, it’s difficult to be a disciple when what you thought you were going to get is no longer there. 

The disciples wanted Jesus to be their king and ruler. They saw the king, but they didn’t see the cross. They didn’t understand that you can’t be a king without a cross. These truths are so interchangeable and inextricably connected in such a way that every king MUST have a cross. 👈🏻🌟

You might not see it, but every person who is anything you want to be has a cross to go along with that. There is always something hanging off a crown. People don’t always see it. It’s not always public, but every crown is paid for by a cross. 

Every development of leadership, prosperity, notoriety or degrees of accomplishment have crosses with them. This is why not everyone has a doctorate degree or has acquired notoriety. This is why not everyone is a good mother or father. This is why not everyone has advanced in their trade, talent, or craft of choice. It’s because there is a cross attached with it. Some people had rather have the ease than the power. It’s a decision. But if you go up, it’s going to cost you something.

Resurrections always do. 🙌🏻

If you know you are destined to rise from the ashes and emerge from the entombed parts of your life,

If you know you were purposed to mount horse and ride strong on the clouds of heaven high above the storms below,

If you know you were born to mentally, physically, spiritually, and emotionally overcome the entrapments of this world,

And if you know you are destined to guide others through the adventure of a lifetime, the journey of the resurrected soul,

Then Overcomer, shake the dust from your messy garments and saddle up your horse…

You have a trail awaiting you. 

Light it up and set it ablaze! 🔥🐎 

What are you waiting for? 

Les Brown once said, “You don’t have to be great to get started, but you have to get started to be great.” 

Happy Beginnings!