🙏 A Father’s Love: How I Discovered God Was Always There

When I sit down to write my daily reflections, moments from my past often come flooding back — unexpected, but undeniably sacred. And each time, I’m reminded that God was watching over me long before I understood what that meant.

I first heard about God as a child, thanks to a woman who loved me like her own — my babysitter, Tina Strider, lovingly known as Grandma to all the children she nurtured.

Every morning after Grandma prepared breakfast, she would retreat to her room and pray. Her faith wasn’t loud or boastful — it was quiet, steady, and strong. Even as a child, I knew I was witnessing something holy.

I remember one day in particular. The other children were teasing me because I didn’t know my father. Some even cruelly said he was dead. I was crushed and confused. With tears streaming down my face, I ran to Grandma. She gently knelt beside me and said something I’ll never forget:

“You do have a Father. And He’s God.”

I didn’t fully understand those words then — but I never forgot them.
They stayed with me.
They healed me.
And now, they’ve become part of who I am.

It wasn’t until adulthood that I truly began to experience God’s love for myself. There were seasons when life felt like it was spiraling out of control — times when I should have lost it all, or lost me — but somehow, someway, He swooped in.

It was as if God reached down, wrapped His arms around me, and pulled me out.
Time and time again.
Even when I didn’t deserve it.
Even when I didn’t know how to ask for it.

And today… I’m just grateful.
Grateful for a God who heals.
Grateful for a relationship that is real, even when I’m struggling.
Grateful for grace that catches me when I fall.

I may slip sometimes, but I know who holds me.
And I still hear Grandma’s voice — reminding me of a truth that carried me through it all:

“You have a Father — and He’s God.”

🌱 The Journey of Self-Discovery: Finding the You That’s Been Waiting

There comes a moment in life when you stop asking, “Who do they want me to be?” and start asking, “Who am I really?”

Self-discovery isn’t always glamorous. It’s not found on a mountaintop or after some grand transformation. Most of the time, it happens in the stillness —
in the healing,
in the heartbreak,
in the detours we never saw coming.

For a long time, I wore labels others gave me:
Daughter. Mother. Survivor.
Strong. Stubborn. Too much. Not enough.

But beneath those titles was a woman I hadn’t fully met yet — a version of myself that God had been shaping all along.
A woman who was soft but powerful.
Broken but whole.
Afraid but still standing.

Self-discovery starts when you stop running from yourself.

It’s asking hard questions:

• What do I believe when no one else is around?

• What brings me peace?

• What am I holding onto that no longer serves me?

It’s choosing to be honest — not just with others, but with yourself.

It’s not about becoming someone new… it’s about returning to who you were before the world told you otherwise.

What I’ve learned is this:

💡 The journey of self-discovery is really a journey back to God —
Because the more you learn about Him,
the more you understand who you are in Him.

You are not your past.
You are not your pain.
You are not your shame.

You are purposefully, divinely, wonderfully made.

And if you’re still figuring it out, that’s okay.

Keep walking.
Keep surrendering.
Keep unlearning what they told you…
and keep rediscovering what God already knew about you.

You’re not lost.
You’re being revealed — one honest step at a time.

The Unexpected Detour