Someone Is Always Watching!

Last night I had the privilege of attending an award show in which I had been nominated for the prestigious ACHI Magazine Award.  It was such an honor to be recognized for the various efforts I have put forth in my community over the years and to know that I had impacted the life of my peers, so much so that someone felt I deserved such acknowledgment.

When Dr. Juanita Fletcher first reached out to me to inform me of my nomination, it was during a time in my life in which I was focused on nothing else but caring for my newborn baby.  I'd recently endured child birth and getting back to work in the industry was the furthest from my mind.  The stress from a difficult labor on top of the new expenses and lack of gigs to pay them was weighing heavy on me.  Naturally my first thought when I got the memo was that I wasn't going to be able to accept it.  There was just way too much going on in my life.

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After giving it much thought and researching to see exactly what this a magazine and it's award was all about, I found myself questioning how I even came to be nominated in the first place.  You see, I had this misconception about whether or not I was truly deserving of being celebrated for my many accomplishments.  Maybe I could blame some of it on postpartum emotions, but for the most part, I felt as though I had not accomplished much at all lately.

Most of my time had been spent in a constant miserable state of pain over the past few months and now there's this new person for me to care for--all I could do is think about what I'd like to be doing with my organization and my acting career.  I spent most of my time just wishing and brainstorming about a future that was slowly beginning to feel like less of a reality.  Aside from holding on to the hope of getting back into the swing of things one day, I felt as though I had nothing.

  

Have you ever felt as though people think much more highly of you than you even see yourself?

Do you ever feel like you aren't doing enough, or that because you are not doing as much as you know you could, you won't ever make it to where you know you're supposed to go?  That's the feeling you get when you aren't walking in your destiny.

When storms are raging or we find ourselves at a stagnant place in life, it's so easy to begin to lose hope and start to believe that what you were once sure would be your future may no longer be possible.  This is especially true for mothers.  How often we give up on our dreams because the thought of accomplishing very much while maintaining your motherhood seems out of reach. Yet every day mothers of all ages are accomplishing this impossible assignment.

This negative thought process continued for me for quite some time and I hadn't even fathomed accepting the nomination until it was just about too late to do so.  In fact, by the time I'd completely made up my mind to go to the award show, I only had a few hours to compose myself for the red carpet.

Thanks to the encouragement of my two closest friends who reminded me that even though I didn't feel deserving, SOMEONE thought I was, I picked myself up from my pity party and made my way to Porter Sanford to be recognized as a nominee.

This was one of those moments when you must force yourself to do something you don't feel like doing because you KNOW it's going to be what's best for you and you'll regret it if you don't.

I didn't even realize how much I needed to be there!

For the past week or so, I've been praying and learning about the importance of self care.  People like me, and especially moms, often take care of everyone around them but themselves.  They get burnt out, used and abused but still make sure enough of them is held together in order to tend to their children, husbands, etc.  Rarely ever are they recognized or awarded for this impossible feat.

To be surrounded by women who were also being acknowledged, and realizing through their acceptance speeches that so many of them were also hurting, struggling, and pressing forward against all odds, I felt an overwhelming since of "we are in this together"... I knew that I was not alone and I began to feel stronger because of it.

In much the same way that I was so inspired by all of these other beautiful women, I had to think about the fact that I too had inspired someone else, which is what had brought me there in the first place.

Being in the presence of these incredible entrepreneurs, moms, talent, business owners, founders and so much more, had given me just the boost that I needed to take the visions I've been cultivating in my soul these past few painstaking months and begin to move forward in action and insist that they come to pass.

To know that I too have an impact on other women in such a way as I was inspired on this night is extremely eye-opening.  It's a realization that someone is always watching and even when you feel as though you're not doing enough, you may be making more of an impact than you realize!

So I wanted to take a moment to shine a spotlight on Dr. Juanita Fletcher and her two beautiful daughters who are going above and beyond to inspire and encourage women every where to never give up.  Through their organization, Women Supporting Women, they are empowering a new generation of strong and powerful women who are changing the world.

I am a proud supporter of this organization and their efforts, and I hope to work with them more in the near future to possibly combine our efforts for an even bigger impact.

Be sure to check out their site and show your support as well.  Find out how you can get involved and look out for this award tour coming to a city near you!

www.WSWassociation.com
www.ACHImagazine.com