In my children’s book, “Latch Key Keesha” I tell a story that resonates with my childhood. Keesha has to stay home in the evenings alone because her parents have to work. Life is challenging, but Keesha endures.
Like little Keesha, I too spent a lot of time home alone and in my own world. While chaos surrounded me, I escaped into the world of literature. I read and wrote stories of a life I imagined.
The thing I’ve learned about challenges is that they really can make us stronger. If I had been told as a young girl that I’d be able to withstand the sucker punches life has thrown at me, I wouldn’t have believed it.
The late Whitney Houston’s song, “I Didn’t Know My Own Strength,” resonates with me.
Lost touch with my soul
I had nowhere to turn
I had nowhere to go
Lost sight of my dream
Thought it would be the end of me
I thought I’d never make it through
I had no hope to hold on to
I thought I would break
I didn’t know my own strength
And I crashed down, and I tumbled
But I did not crumble
I got through all the pain
I didn’t know my own strength
After much prayer and contemplation, I realize that I was built for brilliance. I was saved for success. I was equipped for endurance. I wasn’t built to break, but I was designed to be divine.