Earlier this week I spent time watching Sarah Jakes-Robert videos on YouTube, I was transfixed by her life, not because of her story, but because of her ability to own up to all her mistakes honestly. They key word for me was honestly. She made mistakes in her life and she didn’t shove them under a carpet, but in actuality she made sure that every mistake was a lesson. That she was able to fully heal and share her story in the most honest, open manner possible. She did not only share her story openly, but with the world. It struck me that we all have skeletons in our closet, many of us would hate to admit it, but they are there.
Sarah’s story is simply amazing, because to have gone through what she did and come up on top. Owning every bit of her story and saying, here is what I did, let me inspire you to do better. Let me stand up tall and have you know that you are not your past, you are not your mistakes, you are who you choose to be from this point looking forward.
Her story is an unlikely story, with having been a Bishops daughter and not just any Bishop, but Bishop T.D Jakes. One of the greatest Pastors we have had in our generation, a man that has such grace upon his life, his name is a household name. As though that was not enough to put pressure on any child, she falls pregnant at 13 years old. She faces life as a teen mother and goes on to get married at 19. Married to a man who is her way out of hurting and being scorned by the eyes of those who judge her every move, only to end up with a husband who cheats on her and impregnates someone else. She faces divorce at 22, and one would think that her life simply cannot get any worse. She seeks solace in a strip club, desperate to find a place of acceptance.
I watched as she told her story and a part of me wanted to cry. Cry for her pain and cry for the pain we all do such a great job hiding. I couldn’t help but be so inspired by her truth. Today, she stands remarried, to a Pastor in Los Angeles and with a happy family. She stands firm in her truth as a first lady of a church and she does not pretend. She does not pretend to be anything she is not she does not try to fit the mould of what the world perceives to be righteous and moral. The truth is many would have opted for the route most travelled, which is that of – shove it under the carpet and no one will know.
The truth is that is the reality of many of us, until someone gets hold of a video or incriminating piece of evidence, we prefer to stand in the shadow of our past.
Now, the only one who can decide how you deal with your broken pieces is you. We have all been scared in our life, we have all had moments we simply wish to forget, we all have broken pieces. Those broken pieces can do one of two things.
- They can loom over your life, always holding you back. Whispering darkness into your life, daring you to give up, insisting you are not worthy to be loved, making you afraid of love or taking the shine out of your eyes. Whatever it is that has happened to you or you have done, can steal from you or you can opt for the second choice.
- It can become a lesson learnt and dealt with. A broken piece that scars you, but becomes a reminder of what you survived. A reminder that you are strong, because you survived. You are here, because you are stronger than your past.
Many of us take those scars and do a great job at hiding them, and rightly so because the world can be a cruel malicious place. However, hear me when I say this, you have to heal the scar, else it becomes a scab that can be pulled at and left bleeding all over again. Make sure that you work through whatever stands to hurt you. Find what works for you in healing, it can be by talking to someone, meditating, finding Gods healing or writing in a journal. Just do not shove it under a rug and wish it away, because it has the potential to come back and leave you bleeding.
Many of the areas in our life that keep failing or hurting us, are usually due to a scab. Something we did not work through and heal through. Those trust issues, usually have a root. Those insecurities usually have a root. Those rebellious acts, usually have a root. Find your root and heal it. You deserve that much.
With a tad bit of crazy
Love Mavis
