In Bloom
Looking back, I feel more than confident that everything in my life has led me right here to this exact moment, proclaiming this truth and you reading it, my dear reader. I have worked hard to create a woman of faith, of integrity, of authenticity, of understanding, and of immense compassion. I have also worked to teach and heal myself and others. I have done my best to grow into a woman that God could say followed the example of Jesus (even if she never attained it), that I sought him with all the fervor of my being. It is with this understanding that I embark upon this next step in my journey.
Graduating from the illustrious (shoutout to all my HBCUs and one of our favorite words) Spelman College, I made the choice to invest in myself. Prior to Spelman, I had been a little country girl from Prichard, Alabama whose heart and desires were always ordained and set apart. God had shined his grace and mercy on me early and had called me to live a life worthy of Him and specifically with a purpose for healing the hearts of those whom He had saved and loved.
I traversed my high school and college experience through a different lens. I had always been a young woman with a little bit more to love, so I always had to use my heart and my head to gain connection. For a period of my life, I became celibate as a means to specifically develop a relationship with God for myself. God had always given me a dream. Over the years, He has made my purpose clearer and added more mountains and valleys to that purpose, but I have always had dream that I was actively seeking (and was encouraged through my Mommy). I DID get out of the hood. I DID endure poverty. I DID endure intergenerational Black trauma. I emerge from a unique intersection of identities that the world has flat out told me do not matter. But, this power that I feel, I know has a place, and for the next 365 days, I am actively claiming, owning, and seeking to understand that power, and seeking to touch you, my dear reader.
I want you to know that as I type this, I think of you. I think of where you are and what life you are living and your heart posture and how God’s grace has brought you right here to these words. I am most grateful for the opportunity to not only challenge myself, but to witness to you. I believe in the power of witnessing to your story. I believe that we are innately (and divinely) created to connect with one another. I believe that it is not only in our biological blueprint. It was supremely placed as the center intention of our heart – to love and to connect. As a learner turned researcher turned teacher turned therapist, I believe, most of all, that integrating our identities and healing our struggles is light at the end of the tunnel. It is through this light, this hard work of “letting perseverance finish its work” that James calls for in one of my favorite verses in James.
“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kids, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking” anything.”
– James 1: 2 – 4
Through this medium, I seek to not only continue to heal Taylor, but to speak life into those that God is holding me accountable for. If you don’t read another thing I write, take this with you:
This stretching is for your glory. If you give up now, you won’t have learned the lesson. You won’t be prepared for the bigger step coming.
It’s okay if you don’t know the next step. I do not fully know the plan either. But, I believe in my ability to use words to move the human soul and spirit of God within us all, and I believe in you, dear reader. That is why I am here.
For this next year, I will be actively exploring myself, us, and the world through writing and reflection on my journey by using this medium. I pray that through you, God will continue to reveal our intersecting paths together. I believe that, my dear reader, with all my heart. I invite you to join me (also bring yo’ friends and subscribe). I look forward to growing with you.
Amen and With Love,