Too Beautiful for Words

Goood morning!!

"You not ugly. You the grace of God if us ever see it..."

You don't believe me?

Well, let me help you out a bit. C'mon and sit with me for a while while I paint you as a masterpiece that nobody can kill, steal, or destroy!

But first, let me get you dressed and ready.

Get your feet shod with the Preparation of Peace

Your Sword of the Spirit and Shield of Faith

Your Breastplate of Righteousness and don't forget the Helmet of Salvation. 

Lastly, put on your perfume of "Self love." Oh, and put a little "Grace" on your lips! We don't want dry, cracked lips around here saying nasty and negative things!

Now, you're ready for the battle!

Who are we fighting?

That's for you to decide. 

Of course, there’s a song playing in my soul!

Of course, I’m about to gut you and turn your world upside down.

Of course, because it’s ME and I do believe that sharing IS caring!

I recently saw, “The Color Purple” as a play in Chicago and let me just say that I not only enjoyed myself, but I believe I had a transcendent experience!

I am Celie.

I am Nettie.

I am Shug Avery.

And a little bit of Sophie because EEELLLLLL NO if man raises his hand to me!!

I do believe that it’s true when they say, “Lessons not learned are doomed to be repeated” because I think I am having a déjà vu moment. And not in the sense that I’ve lived this day before, but this feeling or experience feels familiar to me!

I saw it with “Wicked” and now here is this feeling again with “The Color Purple.”

I hear me healing.

I feel my wings spreading.

I see the beauty that is the grace of God residing in me.

I receive those words of triumph and victory over my life.

Because what a shame for the enemy to believe in my potential more than I do!

This post isn’t for the confident women who have life all figured out and are just looking for entertainment.

These words are not for the women who had good deddies and cheerleading mommas.

This isn’t even for the women who put themselves first and know their values.

Nah.

This post is for the Celies…

The Elphabas…

The women who have lost their way.

The ones who’ve been overlooked and picked last.

This post is for the women like me who’ve fought tooth and nail to just be… to exist in this “Free” world!

For the hopeful and the hopeless because hope is hard; it hurts when it doesn't deliver. 

Women whose physical beauty isn’t a topic of conversation; not because it doesn’t exist, but because nobody has taken the time out to actually SEE it… to value it… to embrace it.

So, unfortunately you didn’t take the time, either.

Or maybe it was the topic of conversation as a blueprint and lesson on how NOT to look and what NOT to do before leaving the house; showcasing and forcing us to place spotlights on the parts of ourselves that others deemed unflattering or had to be compared to others whose beauty was seen as the standards before we could ever think that way.

Giving new meanings to old words and making us the poster girls.

Poor.

Skinny.

Fat.

Ugly.

Black. 

This post is for the late bloomers…

And shy introverts who are standing by the ropes of opportunity as if they’re playing double dutch waiting to jump in.

Those of us who don’t want to cause a fuss with our passion and pleas for justice and equality but just want to blend in with the crowds because nobody is listening to us anyway.

The introverts who get exhausted after church on Sundays because the preacher told us to turn to our neighbors one too many times.

I write my posts for the women like me who have little girls inside of them who need to heal!

I write posts for the ugly ducklings and the runts of their friend groups.

And as I write, I heal.

As I look in the mirror, makeup free, I heal.

As I listen to the kindness of others around me, I heal.

You’re here for a reason.

This post belongs to you because I’ve wrapped it and placed a bow on top as a gift from me to you. 

I always give the best, most thoughtful gifts, don't I?

Claim it as yours.

May these words wrap you up in a warm embrace.

May these words add fuel to the fire that burns inside of you.

May they be the words that inhabit your heart and soul before your negative thoughts begin to settle.

Let these words marinate and be the marrow of your bones. Let them orchestrate the blood flow in your veins while you’re on this journey.

I see you because I am you.

Celie and Elphaba, too.

We are little girls; aged by life and tasked with breaking generational curses by leading the future to the Promised Land with lessons we've only learned by life's hardships and misfortunes. 

Heavy is the crown!

Be gracious.

For the woman who lost her way in a man, forgive yourself.

Sometimes we stay too long and we don't know the reasons why plaguing ourselves with questions like: 

"Is it for the comfort or the image that this situation brought me?" "Do I feel too small to take up all of that extra vacant space?" or "Am I afraid that this is the best that life has to offer me?"

For the woman who must heal and close a painful chapter in her life and find the strength and courage to pick up another pen to begin writing the next one.

Give yourself permission to let it hurt and then give yourself permission to let it heal. 

Instead of always trying to get over something, you have to go THROUGH it and FEEL it!

Healing is NOT linear; nor is it pretty. 

Embrace those emotions.

Acknowledge the hurt and the pain.

And then elevate yourself for elevation requires separation!

We are done repeating ourselves, in words and actions!

It's ok to admit that you walked through the wrong door so that you can exit stage left as quickly as possible, instead of spending a lifetime in the wrong room just to make things work or look good.

You don't have to pay a penance. 

Everything that I've lost has made space for everything that I've needed in my life, so how can I not be grateful?

We have to believe that we deserve the best things that life has to offer EVEN IF life is throwing us curveballs!

Your mind is a powerful tool waiting to unlock the potential and sprout the seeds that were planted inside of you long before you were born. 

Nourish those plants.

Water your dreams. 

Let God handle the rest. 

Don’t look at my face for my beauty because it doesn’t reside there, especially for those who refuse to accept it.

The Temptations may have said that beauty is only skin deep, but I disagree.

When I see the heart of a woman and the soul of a man, all the rest is blurred.

It’s the grace that we bring into this world that is the true beauty,

You didn't get picked by your peers, but God chose you and called you by name for a special purpose. 

If physical beauty is your ruler, then my dear you have missed the whole point of this post.

Look deep within yourself.

A masterpiece is still a masterpiece whether the room is full or not!

A piece mastered by the Master can never be overlooked or picked apart because it's your eyes that see His vision.

It was never a conference call!

You are a masterpiece who mastered peace. 

You have hushed the mouths of many and called to them a song that they’ve never heard, that means you’re just too beautiful for words.

I see a lot of people asking on social media apps, "What's the craziest thing you've ever done for love?" and I've been thinking about that a lot lately.

For me, I began doing the work to heal and to trust myself again so that I could fully experience love without the filter of self-sabotage and destruction! 

It's a process!

Take your time. 

I pray that I can learn to trust myself again and welcome the dawning of a new day because I made it to to the other side, not without pain, but without stain!

For that, I give God praise!

And everyday that I get to embrace this newfound love and sense of self, heals that little girl who lives inside of me.

It's really that simple for me. 

“...Oh, don’t you know that you’re beautiful?/

Too beautiful for word/

Oooh (insert your name) you're just too beautiful for words!"

As always, 

The pleasure is STILL mine!