By: Contessa Drayton – Staff writer & Community Communications
“We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty.”- Maya Angelou
When we hear the word change, we can respond either one or two ways. The first reaction is to feel a sense of fear and discomfort, which moves us closer to what’s familiar. The second one is to embrace the uncertainty while clinging onto the courage required to charter into unfamiliar terrain. No matter the choices we have, we alone decide whether or not they have the power to shift us closer, or further away, from our purpose and destiny.
Currently we are living in challenging and turbulent times that have caused our normal to change forever. From the New Normal of an ongoing pandemic, to war in the Ukraine, to rising gas and food prices… the list is never-ending. We can wallow in what’s happening around us or count our blessings that we are still here… designed for a specific purpose. May I encourage you today? No matter what is happening around you in the world, your life matters, and you were created for a special purpose. God’s intent is for you to prosper and be in good health even as your soul prospers. You weren’t just made to endure calamity and give up in life but to discover a way to channel every hardship and allow it to transform your life. I can remember wrestling with my life purpose for many years. It wasn’t until my last visit in the hospital in 2019 that I literally thought I was having a heart attack, but in reality, I was suffering from a broken heart, which was related to my inability to own the pain of my past and hold onto unforgiveness. I finally decided to seek God and wise counsel, and released everything that once hindered me. I am currently walking in a season of freedom and transformation and it was because of embracing and owning my pain in order to transform it and help others do the same.
Here are a three simple tools to help you to embrace and transform life challenges:
Point # 1 Become Aware of Your Current Struggle.
Self awareness is key for you to see not only the problems around you, but also the hindrances from within. When we become aware of our part to play that contributes to life’s challenges, then we can be a part of the solution. You can never overcome what you are not willing to confront.
Point #2 Be willing to take Risk.
Life will move in the direction of your most dominant thoughts. Sometimes our greatest measured risks in life lead us into our greatest potential. As you grow in trusting yourself, your ability to take risk will sharpen.
Point #3 Fight through your process of Becoming to Transform.
Life is a fight, simply sometimes waking up in the morning. Your purpose and transformation is worth the fight of unbecoming in order to become your truest self. Transformation begins with a decision every day that no matter how long it takes, you will succumb to the process that will be evident for the world to see, and be positively affected by it.
Contessa Drayton is a lover of Jesus Christ, devoted wife, mother, and native of Charleston, South Carolina. She is a self-published author and Founder of her former Non-Profit Organization, Destined Shades of Purpose Mentorship Program. Email:info@contessadrayton.com