Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! (Luke 12:24 NIV)
Growing up, teenage insecurities are a normal part of life. This time of self discovery was very interesting but it was also worth it as far as I was concerned. Yes, I admit, I was never a bad kid. I didn't have the same wild experiences as my classmates. But looking back and even then, I never felt out of place or left out.
Yes, my hair was horrible. I had zits in my back so I never wore sleeveless tops. I had braces and glasses early on and a terrible dark tan because of swimming so much. I preferred to look like a tomboy (baggy jeans, sneakers or top siders and t-shirt) not because I was a tomboy but because I just preferred to be comfortable.
The years Lola and Tita Mila would try to make me into a lady. Lola would make my prom dresses and even for my extemporaneous speech competitions. Tita Mila would bring me to the parlor where I would form a lifelong relationship with Tata. I flew Tata over to make me up for my wedding day. But the pains he took to make my eyebrows right for all these years! I just laugh at the thought!
I knew I was not the prettiest not the smartest in my batch. The boys I liked liked the other girls instead. When I finally landed my Prince Charming (I mean this literally), somehow I could never get myself to go that extra mile. Something was holding me back.
Years after, I am proud and happy that my foolish mistakes are only a handful and none that I should be ashamed of.
I grew up normally although my circumstances as a child taught me to grow up faster than my peers. At that age I had a household to help run with my dad, take care of my brother and start learning the business.
Back then I couldn't describe how and why but now I do know. God was the one holding me back from making super stupid mistakes. He just let me do my thing a bit just for experience and a lesson well learned.
My dad started us in the Lord at a very young age. With all that happened, God became so real. My prayers were real. Accepting the Lord at 15 through baptism. Praying for God's best at 13! God taught Tita G to teach me to pray specifically and my husband was one of those.
My life will never be perfect and absolutely certain. But God has taught me to be above my circumstances. He and I have been through my ups and downs. But then, that's part of a real relationship.
So up to this day, I am still not the prettiest, smartest, most popular girl on the block. But those things don't matter at all.
Its the heart for God and others that have always given me my joy and fulfillment.
Yes, God has blessed me in business. But as much as I am blessed, the more He moves me to help others. He brings me into situations and lives that really compel me to do so. The more God gives, the more I have to give/share. But at the end of my days, I have to smile. God has been so good.
There is a difference between self worth and net worth. The latter fades all too quickly and beyond your control at all times. Your self worth is what goes with you always.
I feel so sad for those who feel unloved but are loved. Unfulfilled but blessed. The people who cant see the way God and people see them. Its always a matter of perspective. I choose and make it an effort, as God has taught me through the years, to see the good and humorous in every situation.
You get to be nutty but not nuts.
