It's All In A Name

Photo by Derek Dolro

I used to have events all of the time, particularly when I published other authors. And there was this yummy cupcake place not too far from me that allowed us to use their facility for free because they knew that we would purchase all of the snacks and beverages from their delicious bakery.

Over the years I developed a very good relationship with the owner and so one day when it was just us I called her Yvette. She paused, looked at me and she smiled this little smile, and said, "That was my sister."

I looked at her and said, "'m sorry? What did I call you?"

She responded, "Yvette, but I'm Yvonne."

When your twin dies and people you've never met called you by her name...

Yvette was her twin sister who had passed 20 years ago. It did not surprise her that I had called her Yvette because from time to time people who she had never met call her by her dead sister's name. What she had figured out is that Yvette was always with her in some way, shape, or form and that when people called her name it was a reminder from Spirit that her sister was well and that she was never alone.

There are times when we feel lost and overburdened and like we will never get out of whatever little hole we find ourselves in. That is simply not true. That place that we are in is for a season and it is for purpose. The best thing that we can do is to sit there quietly and allow ourselves to realize why we are there and then to thank Spirit for the realization.

Now here comes the tricky part.

Sometimes even after we come to the realization of why we are where we are there is no change. It might take time a week, a month, a year, a DECADE for things to start to shift. Even that part is a blessing and has purpose. Because that period of waiting is not just for us to get the lesson, but for whoever else is supposed to be part of our transformation to get the lesson and be prepared as well.

Motivational speaker Lisa Nichols recently got married and one of the things that she mentioned was that she had actually met her now husband years ago, but she was working on herself in the interim before it was time for them to really make the connection that would lead to them becoming husband and wife. The time was not a waste, nor was it in vain. It was time to heal, time to grow into the strong, capable, well-rounded people they would need to be to have a successful marriage.

And during that time, Lisa built a life that manifested for herself many names: #1 Bestselling Author. Essence Magazine Contributor. Millionaire. Mother of An Adult Son. Free Spirit. Woman Who Loves Herself Unconditionally. And it all came because she was willing to go through the holding space.

What's holding you in place? And what can you work on while you're in the holding pattern? What name are you called to remind you that you are loved, supported, and never alone?