Live your best life wherever you are! During my life, I had many struggles. As a Christian I know I am to trust, believe, and wait for God’s blessings. Every Christian should have a testimony and willingness to speak the truth to help others. This is my truth.
You can choose to succeed in whatever you were meant to bebe. How many times do you meet people who are complaining about what they don’t have, instead of enjoying what they do have? There are many opportunities in life. Doors close and windows open. Don’t spend so much time staring at the closed door that you don’t see the open window.
I was born and raised in abject poverty in the segregated South. I encountered many hardships along the way. During my journey, I had many mentors to help me (friends, relatives, teachers, pastors, co-workers, and the list goes on). I had to choose to receive the guidance, and I chose to turn those struggles into opportunities. I wanted to live my best life in spite of my situation. I learned to put God first in my life and trust HIM, in spite of what I was going through. Over the years, I learned the difference between happiness and joy. Happiness is an emotion in which we experience a wide range of feelings. It may be temporary and may be caused by earthly experiences or material objects. Joy is a stronger and less common feeling than happiness. Joy may be caused by spiritual experiences, caring for others, gratitude, and thankfulness. Christian joy is a good feeling in your soul. As a result of my trials and tribulations, I now have daily joy.
As a child, I was a day dreamer, avid reader, advocate, caretaker, giver, animal lover, and a fixer. I wanted to be a race car driver, a female Mario Andretti. If this didn’t work out, I wanted to be a detective. Since this was not happening without being a police officer first, I ruled this possibility out.
I also had a streak of stubbornness. I was called “hard headed” by my family. I took many imaginary adventures, and I wanted to fix what was wrong. Things needed to make sense to me. I was always looking to connect the dots. From a young age, I had an attitude of servitude. As I got older, not much changed. I yearned to make a difference in the lives of the hurting people I encountered.
Books became my best friends. I was excited to live the story of the book’s characters. When the weather was nice, I enjoyed taking my torn books to my favorite shade tree beside our shack. I leaned comfortably against the tree trunk as I began my imaginary journey. I was so absorbed that I didn’t notice the insects who gathered around to keep me company. My favorite book was “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee. As written in the reviews, this book takes readers to the roots of human behavior-to innocence and experience, kindness and cruelty, love and hatred, humor and sadness. Atticus Finch was brave enough to support social outcasts and victims of prejudice in a fictional southern town. I didn’t see this act of kindness in my southern town but was hopeful it existed.
My parents kept a small tattered Bible on a table beside their bed. To child me, it was a boring sacred and mystical book filled with words I didn’t understand or couldn’t pronounce. My parents told my siblings and me the Bible was the way God spoke to us. Our purpose was to love Him and obey His word. I didn’t learn to appreciate the beautiful and comforting stories in the Bible until I was an adult. As a woman of faith, I pray about how to make a global impact in the lives of the poor and vulnerable population.
I witnessed and felt the sting of racism, injustice, and inequality for Black people and poor white people. Many bonded together in the fight for equality. This powerful movement gave us something to look forward to. I hear people say that things have changed, and we need to forget what happened in the past. Those of us who were directly affected cannot forget. We were burned, felt the pain, and our scars serve as reminders.
We don’t live in the past, but we are aware of the past. Like so many other families, my family had our share of trials and tribulations, and it was rough! Through our fears and tears, we pressed onward. No matter what our circumstances were, we didn’t give up.
I’ve always wanted to travel, and I’m fortunate to travel with a local travel group. Traveling wasn’t an option for me when I was growing up, or as a young adult. As a retiree, I’ve traveled in the states and abroad. Recently, I visited Hawaii for the first time. I had something to look forward to and still have something to look forward to!
Francie Mae. March 14, 2026.