Strength and Belief

 

 

Strength and Belief
 

In life we all as humans encounter problems and hurtful times. The issues of life can often times get us down, to the point we’re unsure if it’s possible to rise back up. Many times we hear “only the strong survive” which has some truth in it, in battle the weak one often times loses and the stronger one wins. In life the issues become our battle so if we choose to be weak the issue will get the best of us, but if we remain strong we will overcome. I myself have been in many battles spiritually, mentally, and physically.

My physical battles have come from fights in early childhood. Growing up in my neighborhood you had to be strong, ready to fight, and you better win. Every corner I turned it was a potential problem that would end in fighting. Those that where the weaker links got treated like peasants. I got respect growing up because I could fight. I have fought and still fight a lot of mental battles because of the neighborhood I grew up in. age seven I saw drug dealing, fights, prostitution, car jacking’s, killings, and  literally remember ducking in my on home while bullets rip through the walls and refrigerator.

Being in prison from the years of 19 until I was 22 made me mentally stronger in numerous of ways. Don’t think just because someone is in prison that their mind wants to be. I had to check my emotions mentally and cause them to go on chill. What I mean by that is I had to teach my emotions how to feel in order to maintain my peace of mind. Naturally a human will miss their natural habitat of having freedom. When you miss something and can’t have it, you will start to stress and get frustrated. I missed being free, missed my family, and missed control over my life. I had to be mentally tough and focused on day to day activities like working out, reading, learning from my surroundings in order to not focus on the missed feeling of being free. I was forced to deal with the fact I will be free again someday and no matter how bad I wanted to be free in that moment it wasn’t going to happen. I had to be mentally tough and learn how to look at the bright side of things. I have seen many people behind that 100 foot wall in Atlanta federal penitentiary not remain strong mentally and crack. Those who have known of that done so hung themselves, fought guards, end up in mental institutions, and just give up their sense of self.

Spiritually I fight battles daily because the enemy doesn’t want to see someone like me coming from the hood and a life of crime make it out. The enemy would rather me stay trapped doing his work instead of the work of God. I am grateful to admit that God has blessed me with the opportunity to motivate and inspire others to live a more positive lifestyle. If more people in the city of South Bend are putting the guns down and picking up an educational book instead; than the enemy is upset about a soulja joining the army of positivity rather than being in an army of negativity. So the enemy sends all his tricks and tactics at me daily. Some of the tricks work and I sometime slip but I choose to reach for more and keep reaching higher no matter what. The reason I picked this picture because at one point of time in my life I didn’t believe I could be more than my horrible environment.

I know Strength doesn’t come from what you can do. It comes from overcoming the things you once thought you couldn’t.
Credit Giving to "50 inspirational images"
http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=50+inspirational+images&qpvt=50+inspirational+images&FORM=IGRE