Tag Archives: overcoming obstacles

Stay Down Stay Down

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I didn’t see it coming. It happened so fast, and the blow was devastating; I was out before I even hit the ground. Woozy, but I could hear the count loud and clear.

One

Two

Three

Four

I’ve got to get up, I thought to myself, but the voices around me were screaming, stay down, stay down. 

Five

Six

I got to my knees.

Stay down, stay down, they continued to shout.

Seven

I reached for the ropes.

Eight

I started to pull myself up.

You’re gonna get hurt. Don’t be a fool. Stay down, stay down.

Nine

I struggled to my feet.

You can’t win. Stay down, Stay down, they continued to shout. 

The ref looked me in the eye and said, are you sure you want to continue? Battered but not out, I looked him back in the eye and said I ain’t done yet.

Fight

Now the fight is over, the final bell has rung, and the judge’s cards are in; the announcer takes the microphone and informs everyone of the decision.  

The winner by unanimous decision and new champion! 

Me! Yes Me! He said Me!

I trained for this moment.

I overcame the brutal knockdown.

I refused to listen to those who said I couldn’t win.

I refused to stay down.

I kept fighting because I believed, even if no one else did, that I could, and I would succeed, I would control my own destiny. I would be great, and now here I am, the winner and new champion. How about that. 

I stayed the course

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The destination seemed so far and the road so dark, but I stayed the course.

The people around me said I’d never get there, but I stayed the course.

The pain was at times  overwhelming, but I stayed the course.

Life is not easy; it has knocked me down, looked me in the eye, and dared me to get back up, but get back up I did, I stayed the course.

Now I have reached the end of the road, and the future is as bright as can be. The people around me ask how I did it. The pain is but a fleeting memory. 

I stayed the course.

Never just 3/5th of a person

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With Rev. Raphael Warnock’s election, the first African American Senator from Georgia, I am reminded that they once told us we were 3/5th of a person. That the hue of our skin and the texture of our hair made us inferior, that generations were born and raised under the crack of the whip only to die without ever seeing the sunrise of a free day. That they believed their chains could shackle our souls, the specter of burning crosses could break our spirit, the gushing of fire hoses could dampen our resolve, that they could not believe that through it all, the flame that burns deep within us could not be extinguished. A flame that lights the path to not only our past, reminding us who we are and all we have accomplished but to that of our future and all we still have to accomplish. Today we stand on the shoulders of our ancestors who refused to be broken, who never believed they were 3/5th of a person, who were proud of the hue of their skin, and the texture of their hair. We stand here today with the knowledge that we are indeed Black, and we are indeed proud.

Dinner for the week

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Last Sunday, I spent a good part of my morning and afternoon cooking for the week. Italian meatloaf (really turkey loaf), Cornish game hens, collard greens, black bean soup, and spaghetti with mussels. Rewind almost a year ago, and I was recovering from a cardiac arrest. Those who were there have told me the Doctors on the scene worked to bring me back longer than they should; the priest who stopped in to see me each day in the ICU called me miracle man. My recovery was quicker than was expected. My physical rehabilitation progressed nicely. Three months after the event, I went home from the rehab center and returned to work shortly after. A miracle? Maybe but more likely just another day for the Lord Almighty, who chose to reach down and touch me and say, not yet, my son, there is still work for you to do on this Earth. Now I won’t lie; it hasn’t been smooth sailing since the event some days are better than others there are bumps along the road health-wise. Despite that, every day, I wake and can see and smell the wonderful world around me and know of all the love my family and friends have for me, a love so apparent during my recovery and no doubt a significant factor in it. For this, I am truly blessed, blessed that the hand of the Lord has touched me and given me this second chance at life. It allowed me to spend a Sunday cooking for the week because despite what bumps maybe along the way, in my mind, I know He stands over me and will allow me to wake another day, so I might as well have something to eat on those days. I do not know what His ultimate plan is for me, but I know he has touched me, and he is guiding me, and I am eternally thankful for that.