Hey guys!

Forgive my lack of attention to this blog for the past few weeks! There’s been lots going on health wise for members of my family and I needed to throw my attention into that!

But I’m back now and have lots of great content to share ( God’s willing) with you in the weeks to come!

Have you ever heard the saying, “Let your haters be your motivators”?  I used to subscribe to that notion of thinking. I have had lots of people in my life really dislike me for no apparent reason ( trust me when I say, I asked God to search my heart and attitude and to check me if it was me… and in the most recent if situations , it wasn’t me!) and also people who really appeared to waiting for my demise or downfall.

Let me give you an example.( I won’t say names or places as not to stir up or cause any unnecessary drama)  If you’ve been following this blog for awhile  you know I grew up in a Christian household and attended church ( and still do) weekly. I remember there was a time where a few of our young people stepped out of the will of God and made decisions that didn’t  honor God. Instead of loving on those young people, many shunned and disregarded them. ( That really hurt my feelings because nobody is perfect and God’s grace is for everyone! Grace is not a licence to sin however, but its not exclusive to only the righteous. Grace is available to all who believe!) Anyway, I went to use the restroom one time and overhead two women talking about me in the most awful of way using terms like ” oh shes so spoiled”, ” she thinks she’s better than everyone” and ” You watch she’s going to be the next one to…..( insert said sin here)”. I was shocked ( and hurt) and for a long time, I let those women( my “haters”) become my motivation to prove them wrong! I was going to succeed because I couldn’t let them be right about me! No way!

But recently I came across a post my church sister and fellow blogger girl extraordinaire Valerie ( nuanceandbubbles.com)   check her blog out it’s fantastic!)  wrote a few years back and she had a quote on there by Lauren DeMoss that really  resonated with me. The quote reads,”Doing something to prove someone else wrong is the wrong motivation to do anything.”

As a Christian, my motivation should not be to prove others wrong.  My motivation should be to honor God in all I do. Let my lifestyle speak for itself. When you honor God and live a life that reflects Him, what others think of you is irrelevant.

That being said, It is your responsibility to carry yourself in a way that reflects the grace of God. When the “haters” come your way, the way you respond to them is so important. I know how hard it is to not combat hurtful situations in a hurtful way. I am a living testament of that! I used to pop off at the mouth at anyone, anytime, anywhere… but which part of God did that reflect? Hmmm… Combat their “hate” with love because love conquers all.

Also, pray for those people ( and yourself!) Whatever resentment they  hold against you, pray that God will remove the hardness from their hearts and if you have done anything that offends them, that He will help you rectify the situation in love!

Don’t let haters be your motivators. Let pleasing God be your inspiration and motivation!

When combating people who necessarily don’t mean me well, I remember the basis of my whole blogging journey, which is to just  love people anyway, despite how they may treat me. The song “Others” by Israel Houghton is so fitting! Take a listen down below and have a blessed week!
xoxo