A year ago today I was being air-lifted to a local hospital. Doctors, family, nor I knew what the future held. I had a few spams in my brain and I couldn’t speak or move the left side of my body. I spent a few days in the Intensive Care Unit and almost a month in a rehabilitation hospital. Then came more therapy, first at home then later at a clinic. Today, a year later, I’m grateful to be alive.

November 22, 2017, could have been my last day on earth! Even writing these words make me cry. I have tears, tears of gratitude, tears of triumph, and tears of humility. God spared my life, one more time, and I know it’s for a reason, a great one.

Maybe my life was spared so I could teach the 2-day Person-Centered Thinking training in Reading, Harrisburg, and Pittsburgh, PA. Perhaps it was so I could speak at I Am Enough In Christ Women Conference in Bedford and Harrisburg, PA.  Maybe, it was so I could present at the Children’s Mental Health Conference and the National Autism Conference in State College, PA. Perhaps, I got another chance at life so I could attend the International Conference for Children’s with special needs and their families in Orlando or the World’s Speaker Summit in Maitland, FL.

I did all these things this year (and more) and I am so grateful for those experiences. I’m glad I was here on earth this year to do these things. But, I think the lady I met this past Saturday is my reason. I was at a craft and vendor fair, just down the street from my new home, and she came to my booth and said these words: “You are the reason I’m here… I came out here just to see you!”

This woman represents all the people I touched this year and some that I will never meet. I don’t know how many people will read my devotional book, Finding God Through Everyday Life, or the other two books I co-authored this year (Beauty in My Mess and The Mom’s Guide to Being Socially and Politically Engaged) and even this new book that’s about to come out (The Stress R.E.L.I.E.F. Method). This woman represents them all.
 
She also represents everyone who would ever listen to my podcast or visit my YouTube Channel and everyone who would ever read any of the things I post on social media. This woman represents the youth that attended my “You Rock”, “Worry Be Gone”, or “Dealing with My Feelings” programs. She represents everyone who enrolled in the three cohorts of Your Five Steps to Emotional Wellness, the two cohorts of Rewrite Your Story and Heal From Your Past and also everyone who enrolled in the self-study course Start Loving Yourself From The Inside Out. This woman embodies all the people, that in one way or another, where touched by the work that I did this year.
 
I had tears when she said those words. Tears like to run down my face these days. I guess I have too much to be thankful for, so much that words alone are not enough. I stand in awe of what my God has done for me this year alone, plus all that He has done in the previous 33 years of my life. My tears are my worship to the God who created me to be the reason someone is here!

My tears are also my gratitude to you. Yes, you who are reading this or listening to me read this. You are my reason to be here! I got another chance at life because I had something to tell you, something I couldn’t die without telling you. That message is this: YOU CAN RISE ABOVE YOUR CIRCUMSTANCES! Whether it’s writing books, articles, or social media posts, or speaking at conferences, or teaching social-emotional wellness classes, or coaching and counseling others, my message has been the same: I am #RisingAboveMyCircumstances and so can you!!!
 
I’m grateful for all that I could accomplish this year. I’m thankful for each experience I had.  I am grateful that you are in my life. I’m thankful for your friendship, your support, your partnership, and the opportunity to serve you. I am thankful for you. Thank you for being my reason for being here!
 
​Happy Thanksgiving and remember, you have one life to live so live it well, live it fully!