Hi, I'm so glad you're here. Today I will be sharing a poem narrative of my story. The first of several episodes within the introductory series to manage a mom. Listen closely because it is shared as a rhyme. Out of the shadows of calamity and through the seasons of pain, I've overcome the embarrassment, the humiliation, and shame. The divorce I wanted to keep a secret, all to protect my name. Wondering why why I couldn't fix it the brokenness that seems too much to bear. I could no longer fit the broken pieces into the perfect picture frame that seems so unfair. The vision of having a nuclear family and upholding the words until death do us part now seem like a fairy tale that once played on the big screen of my heart. Financial abuse was my story, which yours can you relate? For me, it was the heavy burden of the economic weight. Coming home saying I'm exhausted, please help, our family has grown. Please stop neglecting the responsibilities to be the provider in our home. What started with the job layoff turned out to be an extended journey, I might say. It was 18 years to be exact from that unfortunate job loss day. Yes, he felt defeated, but I was there to inspire and try to encourage him to keep reaching higher. To be fair, he did work two other jobs that didn't last, so over time, providing for our family became a thing of the past. It was sad seeing so much potential go to waste. I suggested they get help, but he chose to give up on that race. I felt trapped. No one could see the anguish in my soul. When I cried out we need help to him, I was shut down by the answer no. For many years I did warfare and prayer to keep our marriage strong. But yet again, it was me primarily carrying that spiritual burden alone. When my oldest three sons became college age, I gained the courage to stand up and fight, while at the same time praying, God, please help me do what's right. I was so grateful when answers began to flow. In my night dreams were insights that only God could know. He provided me instructions on what I needed to do. It was time to save Rachel, and divine guidance would see me through. I had to stop being an enabler and no longer accept the passive aggressive behavior that kept us in a state of lack, which ultimately kept us under constant financial attack. On the day of mediation, there was so much uncertainty in the room. We had to come to an agreement, so I prayed that we could settle soon. Feeling pressured to make a decision, I sat in utter dismay after saying yes to a number that at the time appeared to be okay. I remember the anxiety that overtook me when I when it was all said and done. I lost so much in the process. What happened, Lord? I feel like the other person won. I tried my best to follow you and your instructions along the way. I tried my best to trust and to obey. The next day is when it hit me. I awoke in a panic attack. I could hardly breathe. You gave him too much were the words in my head. Yeah, he got off scot-free. I ran outside to take in fresh air and got my mother on the phone. Then I called others too. We needed to touch the heavenly throne. My breath returned to normal when I was reminded of a task. Go raise funds for the wounded warriors were the divine instructions. Now it's time to remove your mask. Yes, pull back the bandage so others can see your truth. They'll see your life isn't perfect and that you are a wounded warrior too. When you show your scars, others can relate more to you. The Miss Health and Fitness Competition tracked all funds being raised from everyone, including the local businesses who gave. One of the businesses that my par my family had patronized for years was touched by my story and began to shed tears. We cried together. For the next two weeks, warrior vote donations came in. I even gained the semifinalist title. Overall, it was a big win. Then suddenly I had a flashback of a night dream. In it stood a warrior on the shore whose name was Earl. That's what it means. I did come out on the other side as a warrior. I I have the wounds to prove it, but I survived. I am so grateful that I've entered a new season for me to thrive. For the past five years I have grown, I have done the work to heal, and it's my divorce story that I'm finally ready to reveal. Now, with a new vision in my heart, I embrace the future with a fresh start. I invite you to join me on this manager mom journey. You know, when I first thought about sharing my divorce story, I wasn't really sure how to tell it. I wasn't. I even prayed and asked God, you know, how can I share this part of my journey? This is such a difficult part. You know, I've been kind of silent for the last five years. Not many people know about this, you know. Very select view. And um, if they knew, they didn't say anything for sure, because I hadn't shared it openly. Um, and then, you know, three words came to me. Still I rise. Right away, I thought of my Angelo's poem. So I looked it up and and read it. And as I read her words, my own words started to flow, flow like a rhyme. Yeah, it was a rhyme that was in my head. So by the end of the day, my entire story was written. Not in the usual way like I would have told it, but in a poetic narrative. So that's when I realized that this story didn't belong at the end of my introductory series to Manager Mom. Instead, it needed to be at the beginning. Because it isn't just about endings, it's about rising, rebuilding, and starting again. Life is full of challenges, heartbreaks, and frustrations. But if we hold on to faith and if we ask for divine guidance, we can rise above every circumstance. As moms, we manage much. Our households, our businesses, our children, our dreams. There's so much, so many hats that we wear. And even in the middle of difficulty, strength rises in us. Just when we need it, strength rises in us. And sometimes our frustrations push us toward solutions and creativity and new beginnings. In fact, in my next episode that you're going to hear, and that I'll that I'm going to share, I'll be sharing how one of my inventions came out of a pure frustration when my twin boys were only six months old. So I want you to stay encouraged, keep going, and remember, you can rise too. I'm so glad you're here with me on this journey. This is our manager mom journey together because you are a manager mom, and I want you to claim that title. This is Manager Mom, so let's continue together. We will rise.