Читать книгу The Truth In Your Heart - Linda Taylor - Страница 4

Although my mother is no longer here with me physically, I know her spirit lives within me. I can vividly remember growing up as a poor African American girl in the heart of Houston, Texas where poverty and violence was the norm. It was not unusual to look out of the living room window in the middle of the day to see drug deals gone bad or the woman of the night boldly emerging to walk the streets during the day. While the streets were busy, my mother was careful to bring calm and reassurance into our home. My mom was our rock and our protector.

I grew up in a single parent home where my mother worked as a house keeper for several well to do families. Supporting four children on one small income was not an ideal situation, but she made the best of it. There was no doubt we struggled financially, but we more than made up for it in the way we supported and loved one another. There were many times my mother could be seen deep in thought, I’m sure, wondering how she was going to account for all the family’s expenses for the month. Yes, we lived in the struggle, but the struggle did not define us.

As a young child growing up in this environment, it was very difficult to fully expand my thinking, to set goals and have dreams that took me beyond our current situation. Considering my experiences, this was my reality and this was what I knew to be true for my future. Despite our financial hardship, we always had food to eat and clothes to wear. We were blessed beyond measure to have ‘Jenny’ as our mother because we knew that the life lessons she was teaching us would carry us further than anything we would gain from any future education.

While I did not appreciate what was happening at the time, my experiences and the lessons taught to me by my mother so many years ago have molded me into the mom, the wife, and the woman I am today. Although reserved and a woman of few words, my mother was a symbol of strength. Her life was a testament to the power of prayer. The lessons she shared were profound, and the life she lived, even in the face of challenges, was truly inspirational. Her words of wisdom were often tough to hear but were spoken out of love. Those conversations remain with me today living in my heart and flowing through my spirit. It is this hope that continues to drive me to be the person I know my mother would want me to be.

This was my yesterday. It is where my roots were planted and where I learned my most valuable lessons. Somewhere during my teenage years, the fire that burns within me was fueled. Even though my environment had not changed, I learned that my willingness to have faith and to dream gave me permission to move past my current situation and into my blessed life.

Today, my past is my footstool. It is what I stand upon to gain motivation and to expand my potential. My past will be used as a platform to share my story, my vision, and to establish my legacy. It is what I will use to encourage you to exercise faith, to think without limits and to take bold action in the face of adversity and popular opinion.

Through this book, I give to you a gift, the precious residual of my yesterday so that you are motivated beyond measure. There is a power in my past, and I intend to use it. I encourage you to do the same. My story is now our motivation.

Our meeting is not by chance. It was destined that I would share the lessons from my past so that you could be inspired to power through the limits in your own life. I pray that the Truth In Your Heart will help you realize that despite where you have been and despite where you are today, your hope for your future can and will become your reality.