Just Walk Through
This month has caused me to do a great deal of reflecting, just looking back over my life and seeing how good God has been to me. He has been better than good! February is the designated month to celebrate black history, but in my opinion that should be every day. Why? Because every day we are making differences in this world, striving for better, breaking barriers and creating new history. Being a new author, my mind began to wonder about who opened the door and made this possible for me. Someone had to do it first and I’m sure it could not have been easy. Curiosity led me to do a little research.
I discovered a woman by the name of Phillis Wheatley, born May 8, 1753 in West Africa. Yes, I said 1753. This woman was sold into slavery at the young age of seven or eight and transported to North America. I can’t even imagine or comprehend this fact. She was enslaved by the Wheatley family of Boston, which is how she received her last name. In 1773, Phillis accomplished something that no other woman of her status had done. She became the first American slave and the first person of African descent to have her work published. She published a book of poems on various subjects, based on religious and moral aspects.
After doing a little research, there are a few things that stood out to me. The first one being that if she can publish a book under the conditions she was faced with in 1753, surely I can do it too. At times, I become overwhelmed but when I think about all of the obstacles she overcame my little stuff in no way can compare. This alone gives me the motivation and that extra push needed to carry on.
The second thing that stood out to me was that she could not have possibly done this alone. She had to have some support from somewhere. It is important to have a good support system that will push, pull, uplift and encourage you when you need it the most. So be careful of those that you have in your circle. Just think about sporting events, there are people around to cheer the key players on and guess what? They are not forced to be there, they voluntarily give their support because they want to genuinely see you win.
The third thing that really caught my attention was that she was writing about religious and moral aspects. Yes, apparently religious and moral aspects were needed back then just as we need them now. I’m sure if she was here with me today and I asked her why she chose to write about religion, she would tell me that her faith is what carried her through the difficult times. It’s simple, we all should know where our help comes from. Who is your source? I’m sure she would tell me that even though she endured a lot there were many times she had to check her morals, simply the difference between believing what is right or what is wrong. We all know that even when we want to do right, evil is always present, so we need to choose to make the right choices.
We learn by what we see others do, therefore we must be careful about the examples we set for our kids. They are watching us. What are they seeing mommy, daddy, aunt, uncle, grandma or granddaddy accomplish in this life? Are they getting the support that they need? Are we making the right decisions? Do we choose to do the right thing when it is easier to do wrong?
God never intended for us to live this life alone. We all have a purpose and plan in this life. I’m able to call myself an author today because someone else, made the sacrifice for me to be here. The reality is that a lot of opportunities that we are afforded today is because someone else suffered, for us to walk through an open door. There is no excuse for us not to achieve anything that we want. They have done the hard part and made it easier for us.
Just think about this, I started this book venture in March of 2020, I have written and copyrighted ten books and self-published two of those books, became an entrepreneur and blogger in less than 1 year. Who does that? Nobody but the good Lord and His favor over my life.
As I sat and compared my experience with Mrs. Wheatley, I quickly decided that no matter how overwhelmed I may feel, I will not trade my journey with her. I can’t imagine being sold into slavery and all the pressures that came along with that and being an author during that time. So, thank you Mrs. Phillis Wheatley and all the women that opened this door for me. I appreciate you and since the door is open, I feel as though I am obligated to walk on in my purpose and my calling. Watch out here I come. I’m walking in my open door season!