Graduating into 40!!

Woohoo!! I've graduated y'all! I've joined the 40s club! I make 40 look like 40 

Thanks so much for all who've been a part of my life's journey. Whether you've listened to me, laughed with me, prayed for me, or even just existed in a positive way, I thank you so much for whatever part you've had or have in my life, and I thank God for blessing us to cross paths! 

Here's my graduation speech. You can read it or listen to it on the video below. I invite you to be a part of my special day and my journey. Most of all, I hope this blesses you in some way.

Check out my graduation video below: 👇🏾 

https://youtu.be/5307MgS9A1I

Graduation Speech:

     As I look over my 30’s, and I mean the entire decade, it was filled with so many tears and so much hurt, pain, and grief. I fought years of suicidal depression, isolation, loneliness, and many mental and spiritual battles. So today, I'm not just celebrating another birthday. I'm crossing into a new season and I’m graduating from my 30’s into my 40’s! 

     "Most graduations celebrate what someone has learned in school. Tonight, I'm celebrating what God taught me in life." Today, we are celebrating me becoming 40. But tonight isn't just a birthday party. It's my graduation from one of the hardest decades of my life."  For testimony purposes I want to share this story with you… In high school, I graduated with honors, but as all the names were called for the students to stand and be recognized, my name was skipped, and in that moment I wasn’t crying tears of joy, I was crying because my moment was taken from me. Yes, that was a long time ago, but today I’m taking back everything that the enemy stole or tried to steal. 

     Today, not only do I graduate with honors (all glory and honor belong to the Most High Yah) but tonight I also choose to name myself the valedictorian of my thirties. Today, I’m making myself the valedictorian, saying goodbye to my 30’s, and delivering a commencement speech for my 40s. Please bear with me as I read this letter… 

Dear Renee, 

     Welcome home. I've waited forty years to meet you. I've seen glimpses of you before. I saw you in the little girl who dreamed big. I saw you in the young woman who loved deeply. I saw you in every prayer whispered through tears. I saw you in every poem written when no one else knew what your heart was carrying. I saw you in every act of kindness you offered while your own heart was breaking. I saw you in every time you chose to get back up when it would have been easier to stay down. But today... I finally get to meet you. Not because you've become perfect. Not because you've accomplished every goal. Not because life finally turned out exactly the way you planned. I'm meeting you because somewhere along the journey, you stopped waiting for life to become what you expected, what you desired, and even what you prayed for, before deciding to become free. 

     You see, you believed the freedom of heartache and regret would come when things around you changed. Like, when the degree was finished. When your marriage was either healed or released. When your health improved. When certain habits changed. When your dreams finally came true. But God had something even greater waiting for you. He was teaching you a freedom that no circumstance could give—and no circumstance could take away. The freedom to forgive. The freedom to let go. The freedom to hope again. The freedom to begin again. 

     You have cried enough tears for one decade. You have carried burdens that never belonged to you. You have tried to heal wounds you didn't create. You have blamed yourself for storms you did not cause. You have listened to a voice that whispered you were not enough, that you were alone, and no one cared. But today... We call that voice by its real name. It is a LIE. You are not alone. You are deeply loved. And, You are enough. Not because you've earned it. Not because you've proven it. Not because you've finally reached some invisible finish line. 

You are enough because you were created by a God who never makes mistakes. 

You are enough because your worth has never depended on someone else's ability to recognize it. 

You are enough because love does not become more valuable when it is finally appreciated. It was valuable all along. 

     As you step into this new decade, don't strive to become someone worthy of love and acceptance. Walk as the woman who already is. Don't spend another decade wondering whether you're enough. Spend it reminding others—and yourself—that  you are. Walk gently. Walk wisely. Walk courageously. Laugh more. Rest without guilt. Love, dream and create without fear or apology. Forgive freely and generously. Protect your peace. Let God guard your heart. And never ever hand your identity to someone else to decide. You are not beginning as if the past didn't matter. You are beginning because it no longer owns your future. This is not the end of your story. This is the first page of your greatest chapter yet. Welcome to forty. Welcome to freedom. Welcome to hope. Welcome... to Begin Again. 

Love, 

The woman you've been becoming all along. 

And, "To anyone who has ever believed they weren't enough... this chapter is for you. "Begin again!!" "Tonight isn't just my graduation. If you're ready, it can be yours too."