This is dedicated to the queens who are already stressed due to the coming week because the weight of their responsibilities and trials are just too heavy to carry. To the women who feel too weak – physically, emotionally, mentally and financially – to continue moving forward. My hope is that this post will adjust your vision to help you realize that you have a resource at your disposal to triumphantly overcome the woes of the world.
Okay, so let's state the not-so-obvious. Technically, you could successfully ride the waves of life without Christ at the center of your life. However, without Him, it would be hard to stay afloat with the weight of your own world trying to hold you down. You see, when life's trials, like when your coworker oversteps their boundaries or when your money is funny, tries to drown you, Christ is like a floatation device keeping you on top of the water.
God is your helper, a true provider. He wants to get you out of sticky situations and into glory with Him. Being a product affected by your surrounding turbulence is only a choice. There's another option which is to elevate above the storm beneath you. With Christ, joy and peace are inevitable.
So, though the mere thought of the week ahead may wear you down, you can still tap into God's supernatural strength, knowledge and abilities to help you kick this week's butt. You will make it through with Christ by your side. All you need to do is believe and surrender yourself to Him.
Here's a prayer of victory to recite when you feel like life's drowning you and you need God's strength to carry you through.
Dear Heavenly Father:
You are marvelous in all your ways. You care so much about your children and never let us do this thing called life alone. Thank you for being all that you are – a healer, provider, protector, enemy-checker, etc. Thank you for showing me what true love is by unconditionally loving me no matter what I'm doing and look like. Right now, I lay down all of my worries and burdens at your feet, Lord God. You are the ultimate source of strength so in the areas where I'm weak, fill me up with your strength. Your Word says that I can do ALL things through YOU who gives me strength. So right now I confidently declare that I can do EVERYTHING that I'm called to do.
Not only will I make it, but I will come out victorious in your name. Therefore I break the chains of depression, frustration, impatience, insecurity and pride. I break the chains of fear of the unknown and the lack of resources. You've promised that you won't let your children be without and every promise you make is filled, so I know that you will come through with the resources I lack. Thank you for being a promise keeper and my light in every dark tunnel. Thank you for the victory that we know is coming.
In Jesus' name, amen.
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To help you better understand why this was such a mental awakening for me, I first need to give a bit of my backstory. I’m in my late thirties. I’m an attorneyand a journalist. I own a home and have traveled the world extensively. Essentially, I’ve done everything in life I set out to do. However, when it comes to dating, I struggle. Not because there is anything wrong with me per se, but because my career and “lifestyle” often create problems in my romantic relationships.
View from my hotel room
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I’ve been told everything from, ‘I can’t continue to date you because you seem to choose your career over wanting to settle down and have kids’ by a man after only the second date to ‘Maybe if you just sat down somewhere for a while, I’d actually wife you’ by someone who has honestly never proven themselves to be the settle down type. And these are only a handful of the things I’ve been told over the years.
It’s been frustrating, to say the least, and there have even been seasons where I purposely dimmed my light in hopes that my career wouldn’t push away potential suitors. I know what you’re thinking, “Girl, why would you even consider that? If they’re for you, it won’t matter what you do.” Hey, don’t judge me, but also, I one hundred percent agree.
My hotel bathroom
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That’s why this recent moment in Switzerland was right on time. When I first walked into the hotel to check in, I was blown away by the surrounding beauty. It was a five-star property with one of the world’s most famous thermal bathhouses. Yet, it was something about seeing that 90% of the hotel’s guests were couples, that forced me to sit back for a bit of introspection—while soaking in the thermal spa, of course.
As I went through the mental conversation, there was a battle of sorts. On one hand, I knew that being able to partake in experiences like the one I was having at that moment was important to me. I knew that, at times I actually love being able to dabble in the finer things—after all, I’ve worked hard to be able to afford them. On the other hand, and sadly, I knew that sometimes being a single Black woman that publicly showcases her “luxurious” habits can intimidate men and even scare them off from pursuing you under the guise of them feeling like they “can’t do anything for you, because you have everything.”
My hotel room
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So, what is a girl to do?
Do I minimize/hide the life and experiences that I have? Do I play down the hard work I’ve put in to get where I am professionally? Or, do I risk being single in exchange for being able to have said life, without backlash?
Luckily, the joy that I felt while being at this property won. There was something about taking a full day to simply pamper myself at the bathhouse and in my in-room steam shower and soaker tub, indulging in cuisine from a 2-star Michelin restaurant and doing all of this while surrounded by an amazing group of Black women that reminded me—this is certainly the life I was meant to live and that I deserve. Even if it means that right now, I’ll just have to provide it for myself until the right partner comes along. And honestly, I’m okay with that.
Restaurant at 7132 hotel
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