Reva

💌 People are often surprised when they hear the raw parts of my testimony. 💌

“I never would’ve guessed you’ve been through all of that.”

And they’re right. That has always been my calling. Let me explain….

From the time I was a little girl, I watched what unresolved hurt could do to people. I watched pain turn into bitterness. I watched disappointment steal joy. I watched people grow cold, stop trusting, stop laughing, stop loving, stop smiling at others in passing.

Even then, I remember making a quiet decision and prayer in my little heart:

“Dear God… don’t let me become that. Please. I want to give smiles to the world. I want to keep smiling. I love smiling! Doesn’t everyone?”

I wasn’t asking for an easy life. I was asking for preservation of a soft and loving heart, DESPITE life.

I wanted to keep laughing.
I wanted to stay warm.
I wanted to keep loving people, even after being hurt.
I wanted my heart to stay open instead of building walls around it.

That doesn’t mean I haven’t struggled with this. There were seasons I could have become bitter. There were moments it would’ve been easier to harden my heart, than heal it.

But every time, God gently calls me back to Himself.

If there’s anything beautiful about my testimony, It’s that God was faithful enough to keep softening me, while simultaneously allowing me to become stronger and bolder at the same time.

I spent years watching women believe they had to become hard, to survive.
I watched women confuse hardness and arrogance, with what they called confidence.

But if there’s one thing I hope to leave behind for younger women, it’s this:

You don’t have to choose between strength and softness….

There is something very powerful about a woman who is tender enough to love deeply, and strong enough to stand firmly.

Stay kind, stay curious, and stand firm.