I want to take you on a journey. Most journeys start at an early age but I believe mine started in my late 20's then it took me back in time so that I could truly understand my story.
I remember when...
This was me, competing for the title of Miss Louisiana. Fourteen years ago, I was on top of the world. I was on the stage that I competed on when I was a little girl with big dreams. I remember the butterflies in my stomach as the curtains opened the first night of competition. It had been years since I walked that runway. I was on the mountain top. I did something I had dreamt of my entire life even though I almost waited too late.
One year later, I fell off that mountain top and experienced some of the lowest times in my life. Heartache. Grief beyond comprehension. So many things I couldn't wrap my mind around.
It only took one year to go from good to bad. From the mountain top to the valley.
I often wonder... what might have been... but that's when I'm reminded that God causes ALL things to work for His glory when you place everything in His hands.
I could have stayed in that valley. I could have continued down the road I was on... BUT GOD said no. He picked me up and gently placed me back on my feet.
Right before Miss Louisiana, my dad interviewed me for his TV show. He asked me what my biggest regret was to date. I told him that I lived with no regrets because everything had made me the person that I was today. Whew... little did I know where I would be one year later.
I still try to live with no regrets. Could I have made better decisions? Absolutely. But my prayer is that God will use my journey to encourage someone else. Maybe it will keep a young dreamer away from the path my choices took me down. I am not a waste. Neither are you.
My life isn't over... nor is my story. BUT my story is finally ready to be shared. It's not a fairytale. But it's mine. It will be hard to relive so many of the days I tried so desperately to forget. Times I walked alone and fought tough battles alone. But I do believe in order to truly be restored... you have to dig deep. Allow God to mend what broke you.
So here I am... ready to walk back down a road that nearly killed me.
Stay tuned... God is a God of restoration. A God full of mercy and grace. A God that can make beauty from ashes. A God that can bring death to life.
This is me now.
I remember when... I'll never forget how I went from the mountain top to the valley... and I'll never forget how He picked me up from the darkest of valleys. I still have a long way to go but I know not to get too comfortable because a lot can change in one year.
If this is you, hang in there. Don't settle. Don't get too comfortable. Your life isn't over and neither is mine.
This is us
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