Since joining social networking sites and regaining contact with a lot of old friends, I have been asked numerous times, “What the hell happened to you? Where did you go?” To most people, I all but disappeared for most of my 20s. I had to. By the time I was 21, I was a MESS. Drinking, drugs, partying, sleeping around, wasting away...One day, my biological father, Rick, set me down at his kitchen table and said, "Look, if you keep travelling down this path, you are gonna end up exactly where you are going." And truthfully, it was everything I needed to hear.
Two days later, I met Andre. He was from the "other side of the tracks." He was handsome, rich, and safe. I wasn't head over heels crazy in love with the guy, but I needed to clean up and he was an excellent choice for a husband. My parents and all my friends knew that he wasn't the one for me, but I didn't have the guts to explain to them what I was doing, so I married him 8 months later...And then I met Jesus. I fell head-over-heels crazy mad in love with my Savior, and didn't know what to do about it. I ended up, basically, walking away from everyone I knew, everyone who knew me as someone else in order that I could get my head straight, get my life straight, figure out who in the hell I am, and what in the hell my purpose is in this world. I didn't figure it all out, but I did eventually get my head straight. I still love Jesus, I don't love Andre, and I can accept my life for exactly what it is.
My friend Jasmine shared this gem with me:
"You do what you know how to do, and when you know better, you do better." Maya Angelou
It is ironic that in this post, Rick sort of gets credit for setting me on the right path, but then in the following post, you see a whole different side to my feelings for him.
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