Motivating Monday (on Thursday): February 25, 2021 Repost

Please Note: This is a repost of the 
exact same post from Thursday, February 25. 

Time to Shine

Welcome and welcome back! It's another amazing day in paradise. Thank you so much for being here. 

This has been a long, full day. It's after 7:30 p.m. and I'm finally creating the time to work on this. It has been such a crazy amazing week and I have been waiting for this day to come. Of all of the days in the month of February, this one is the most important to me: February 25. 

February 25, 1930 is the day my maternal grandmother (my mom's mom) was born ⭐. Cora Dean Lee Sanders, my Nana (nah-nah not nan-na), was a regal woman and cared for me while my mom worked. Her husband, my grandfather, Alexander, (MeMe is what we called him) was equally regal with length to his stature. I Love these two people. I have fond memories of both 😍. 

 

I remember sitting between my Nana's legs getting my hair braided. That conjures up memories of me sitting on the chair in the kitchen waiting for the hot comb to heat up on the stove. She would use it to straighten my hair so she could braid it. (Some of ya'll know nothing about that). 

Me with Cute Hair

And then there was the food, the cooking 🍲🍗🍞🍖🍳. She made sweet potato pies 🍠 and cakes 🍰 for the church bake sale 🎂. We had large family feasts during the holidays, all from her kitchen. She had a front parlor in her home with furniture wrapped in plastic. Of course, it was a place where NO ONE sat. But the room was fully dressed. 

Looking back she was such a talented woman, a woman full of Love for so many people. She is known as being stern but Loving. She'd had plenty of people sleep in her home that weren't her personal responsibility. She affected the lives of so many since her home had a revolving door. Everyone was welcome there. And people came, family and friends alike.

Several years ago I reflected on why I had some of the qualities I did. God showed me that being under the care of my grandmother during my earliest years of life had instilled her character and her values in me. She valiantly served her family, her church and her community. I am the same way. 

She was affectionately called "Aunt Dean" by numerous nieces and nephews. "Dean" or "Cora" by others who knew her. "Ma" and "Nana" reverberate the most in my memories. My conscious mind remembers bits and pieces of things. My subconscious has her immortalized. 

I feel her presence, her spirit, her approval when I'm about certain tasks. I feel her more now, during HER month. I'm excited she is close. Wisdom and I have a lot of work to do and I'm counting on her (and other ancestors) to assist. 

I have been working on relaunching my blog and the YouTube show I was working on. Usually I post something on Monday, no matter what time it is. This Monday all I had was a title, which you see above. Even though it was my grandmother's birthday week, I had no clarity on the message. Today I am clear.

The reason why the title of this week's post is Time To Shine is because that is the name of the new song Black Violin released on February 17. I received a notification on Sunday night, clicked on it and played the song on repeat the entire night. They have that effect on me.

You see I have this "thing" for Black Violin. They have been playing the soundtrack of me and Wisdom's life, mine especially. Time To Shine is no different. It's exactly the message I needed to hear at this point in our journey. I just wasn't exactly sure HOW to shine. This is where I feel my grandmother prompting me. I feel she is leading the ancestors to guide me in the direction I need to go. 

Now how do I know it's my grandmother and not God or Spirit? Well... I believe that God gives my grandmother permission to speak for Him because He knows I might listen better if it's her. Don't get me wrong, my Big Daddy has my attention. And we have an incredible relationship. But when it's my grandmother, it's like when she is speaking, I am being asked to speak for her and others who didn't and don't have a voice. 

How do I know this? Well... today I got a call from one of my sisters. We had texted a little just yesterday and she didn't know when she was going to be able to call. She called TODAY, the very next day! During our conversation, I mentioned it was Nana's birthday and she was a little taken aback. She had forgotten. 

That honestly was a little shocking to me because she was so close to our grandmother when we were growing up. I learned about how close they were when we spoke. She shared things I never knew. 

What was most interesting about our conversation is she revealed she had recently spoken with people where she mentioned our grandmother. One was with our cousin just this morning (yes, on our grandmother's birthday). Neither acknowledged her birthday. 

"Out of the blue" my sister calls me and I mention it, not knowing she didn't remember? NOPE! That was not "out of the blue" to me. I told my sister that was Nana. That was no coincidence. She wanted to make sure my sister got the message it was her birthday.

And it's no coincidence that the Time To Shine message came this week either. See... I've been hiding in plain sight. It's a challenge to be financially impoverished yet be intellectually wealthy. I have been known to say "there's a diamond mine within me that I've been excavating". 

It's true. There is. Its brilliance is far beyond anything I could have imagined. Only God could have made it so. The mine within me is far more valuable than every diamond mine found around the globe. But I've been hiding mine. 

Hiding is not the best word. It's more like I've been protecting it. I know people have got my story twisted. I'm finally becoming OK with that. I have to be. I had it twisted for a long time too so I can't fault anyone.

That's why it's time to shine. It's time to tell my story. Truly, it's me and Wisdom's story. When Wis came along is when it really got good. And what a page turner it is. 

Thing is... while my story is unique, it's also like so many others. It's time for my story to make a difference, not just in my life but in the life of others. And that's what is going to make me shine. 

God wants me to "voluntarily" get in the spotlight. And take whatever comes. I am expecting "the best of times and the worst of times". Maybe that's just me. In the end, it will be another rung reached on the way to "the best" which "is yet to come". 

So stay tuned for me shining. Thank you Nana for continuing to walk this journey with me. Thank you for the example you set for me. It took me a long time to realize the magnitude of what I learned from you. I had to become a parent to realize it. Thank you. Thank YOU. THANK YOU! 

I thank God for all He continues to reveal to me. I am blessed and highly favored among people. One of the greatest signs of that favor is the son I have the honor of being the mom to. God has put me on an uphill journey to have motherhood recognized as a right, not a privilege. 

One day in the near, versus distant, future women and men will be supported in their decisions to stay home with their children through the age of three (at the least) regardless of their income. The educational and financial support will be in place to provide children with a home they can be nourished in to grow into productive members of society. This is one of the ways I am being called to shine. 

"The time is now." 

"It's time to Love." 

"It's time for L.U.V." 

"The best is yet to come" for you and me. Let's name it and claim it. Thank you again for being here. 

Enjoy creating your day. 

Peace, Love and God's continued blessings. 

Always...(s.m.i.l.e.) 

From Kai the C.B.B. and Wisdom, my mini me!