Dear Abby. Dear Me.

While in the midst of a pity party my father posed the following question: “If someone contacted you who was dealing with the same issue you’re dealing with, what would you say to them?” He followed with this advice: “Pretend you’re Dear Abby and answer them.”So, I took my father’s advice and wrote a “Dear Kimberly” healing letter.

Pile of colorful gifts

Warren Buffet and my gift.

I was telling a friend about watching Warren Buffet on the Today Show. I wanted to purchase his new book so I could become rich like Mr. Buffet. My friend looked at me, shook his head and told me, “Warren Buffet’s gifts are not yours.”My friend told me that God has a huge room with a stack of gifts with my name on it. He is just waiting for me to claim them, and the funny thing is nobody else can claim theses gifts but me because they are mine. I want to know where this gift room is located and why doesn’t God help me find it?

Why are you getting new?

When my friend Tye asked what I expected in the New Year, I felt an uneasiness in my stomach that rendered me speechless. I hadn’t given the subject much thought. The previous year was filled with so much of the unexpected that it cautioned me not to presume what the totality of a new year might be. Then it hit me: the only difference between December 31and January 1 is one day.

Black woman stressed looking at sky

From meltdown to gratitude

When the axle decided to disconnect itself from my car, I had a meltdown. Right there, in the middle of the street. I had a meltdown. In the midst of my meltdown, I called one of my praying sister friends. I told her, I could not take one more unexpected mishap to spiral me into a financial or spiritual crisis. She told me that the only way to combat spiritual warfare is to say a prayer of gratitude.

Choose you

Thursday nights, you can catch me, on the couch tuning into Grey’s Anatomy. When Meredith Grey, a young intern on the show asked Doctor McDreamy to choose her, I screamed at the television, “Don’t wait for him. Choose you!” For me, this scene was far more than scripted television melodrama courtesy of Shonda Rhimes . Grey’s plea resonated with me. It reflected a longing sometimes heard within my own heart: wanting someone to choose me. Over time, I have learned the power of turning this from a question to an affirmation: I choose me.