October 15, 2024 • 39 mins
In this episode of The Charging Station, Tracey dives into an unexpected lesson in patience and alignment, all inspired by a simple morning routine. Through a personal story about the costly consequences of rushing through processes, Tracey explores the importance of waiting with purpose and trusting in God’s perfect timing. Tune in for a reminder that, just like a retainer keeps our smile in place, patience keeps our lives in alignment and prevents us from veering off course. If you’ve ever struggled with slowing down and embracing the wait, this episode is for you!
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:23):
What's good everybody .
Welcome to the Charging Station.
It your girl, tracy Massey ofLiving my Empowered Life.
Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, what'sgoing on?
If you are a returning listener, welcome back, boo.
You know I love me some.
You.
Thank you for joining me forthe shenanigans on the couchy
couch.
Once again, if you are new here, welcome.
(00:45):
I'm so glad to have you here.
I don't take it lightly thatyou could be doing anything,
listening to anybody, but you'relending me your ear.
For this, these few moments,these precious moments.
I thank you and I hope that youcome back.
I hope you stay.
I hope you become a proudmember of the power squad.
That's who we are over here.
So, yeah, I just had to take myglasses off y'all because
(01:07):
they're filthy, jeez, no wondereverything's blurry.
Go ahead and make sure thatyou're following me on all of
the socials you can find me atLiving my Empowered Life on
Facebook, tiktok, instagram,youtube, and I feel like I'm
forgetting something.
Oh, threads I actually wentviral on threads y'all.
(01:29):
That's crazy to me and makesure that you are.
Whatever platform you'relistening to this podcast on,
make sure you subscribe orfollow whichever one they
require you to do.
Make sure you rate and leave areview, because your ratings and
your reviews help get thepodcast out to more listeners.
You can also at the show notes.
(01:51):
On the show notes there's alink for you to text me.
If you send me a text, I willread your text on the next
episode.
So make sure that you text me.
I can't reply back in writingjust yet they haven't figured
out how to do that just yet butI will read your text and
respond to you on the nextepisode.
Also, if you leave a review,I'll read those reviews as well
(02:14):
and shout you out on my socialmedia.
And all that Because you knowthis is an interactive podcast.
Even though you're not in thestudio with me recording, you
are with me on the couch, allright.
So we you know, we cool overhere, we vibes, we vibes over
here, yeah, so I think that'severything.
Got all the housekeeping stuffout of the way, so I know why
(02:36):
you're here.
So let's get into the contentthis week's episode, all right.
So y'all all right.
I don't know about you, but theway God talks to me, I mean
he's so creative, right?
I mean he's the creator of allcreations, so he's so creative.
But the way God talks to me, itblows my mind most of the
(03:01):
majority of the time.
So I'm in my bathroom right andI am getting ready for the day,
doing my skincare routine,saying my affirmations.
Got my worship music playing inthe background.
It's a whole vibe in themornings.
I have a whole morning routine.
(03:21):
I can share my morning routinewith y'all on the socials if you
want.
Just let me know.
But I'm getting ready for theday and I go to take my retainer
out.
So if you don't know, if you'renew to me, I've had braces three
times.
Yeah, yeah, and I actually gotbraces when I was in my 30s
(03:42):
because my mom could not affordbraces.
So I had to walk my entirechildhood with these teeth that
I was very self-conscious about.
So when I got in a positionwhere I had some good insurance
and was making you know I'mstarting my career and
(04:05):
everything when I got in aposition where I could get
braces, I got them and I was 30.
Was I 30 or 31?
I was in my early 30s, but Igot braces for the first time
and I got Invisalign.
Now, why did I have bracesthree times?
I'm just going to go ahead andgive you all the gist of why,
(04:25):
and we'll go into further.
You know you'll see how thisplays along.
But I got braces three times.
The first time, great,everything was groovy.
The second time, there was afire in my old apartment complex
.
One of my neighbors was playingchemist, from what I was told,
and it blew up.
They blew up their apartmentand my apartment was right next
(04:50):
to theirs Like we shared a wall,and so at that time I was
getting ready to go somewhere.
So I had my retainer out on thecounter and because of the fire
and the smoke, damage and thesoot, the firemen were like no,
you got to throw this retaineraway.
You can't, we can't clean it,we can't, we're not gonna have
let you put this in your mouthor whatever child.
(05:13):
I was trying to save money.
I know, I know, I know whowould want a sooty retainer
anyway.
But I was like y'all don't knowhow much I paid for this the
round.
Y'all was over 5 Gs.
Okay, thank God for insuranceand healthcare savings, flexible
spending accounts, okay.
So I had to call my orthodontistand say, hey, I need a new
(05:36):
retainer.
And what happened was theycouldn't get me in for like a
month happened was they couldn'tget me in for like a month.
Well, since they couldn't getme in in like a month, my teeth
were like, woohoo, we free.
So by the time I got back tothe orthodontist, my teeth had
shifted and had started to moveback to their original form.
(05:58):
So I had to get braces, andthis time we got wire braces.
So I had to get braces, andthis time we got wire braces.
So I had to wear that for likea year and then, the third time,
I lost my retainer.
So I only had one one retainerat the time and I lost it.
Come to find out years later,when I moved, I found that thing
(06:22):
behind my couch.
But again, because I couldn'tget into the orthodontist office
for like a month, I had to waitand when I got there they were
like, yeah, we're shifting again.
So now we got to get the bracesagain.
So that was the third time.
So why am I telling y'all aboutmy braces?
Because this is what God had toshow me while I was standing in
(06:45):
the bathroom removing myretainer to brush and care for
my teeth.
What he showed me, I am goingto share with you right now.
You might, you might, want togo ahead, grab your coffee, grab
your tea, grab your water, grabyour wine, whatever your
beverage of choice is, bro, goahead and grab it and have a
seat right here on the couch,because this is about to get
(07:07):
deep a little bit, all right.
So here we go.
God showed me through myretainer what alignment looks
like and the cost of alignmentthe cost of nobody seeing you
(07:28):
being aligned, the pain ofalignment and how invisible
alignment can be.
Baby, listen, listen, listen,listen, listen.
I know you're trying to digestthat, I know you're trying to
digest that.
How did I get all this fromtaking my retainer out of my
mouth?
All right, then let's go.
So I had to look up thedefinition of the word retainer,
(07:49):
because I love words, I lovedefinitions, I'm a little bit of
a nerd.
I love to study stuff.
This is the kind of stuff thatfascinates me.
Okay, so go with me, and I knowthis kind of stuff fascinates
you too, because you wouldn't behere.
We vibe, we're similar, so youenjoy the stuff too.
So the definition of the wordretainer not the retainer that
you do for an attorney or toretain services from somebody,
(08:12):
but a retainer is a thing thatholds something in place.
So remember when I said I hadbraces three times, every time I
didn't wear my retainer orcouldn't get to the orthodontist
to get, you know, aligned again, my teeth were shifting back to
its original form, thatretainer that I wear faithfully
(08:32):
now, if I sound funny right now,it's because I'm wearing it.
That retainer keeps things inplace.
That retainer keeps my teethfrom shifting back to its
original form, which wasmisaligned.
It had gaps, huh, girl.
(08:53):
So this retainer, though it'ssmall and it's clear, you can't
really see it unless you likelooking directly into my mouth
or you don't even know I have iton unless I pronounce my s is a
little different.
You know, sometimes, when you,when you first put the retainer
in, you're gonna, you're gonnasound a little funny, but very
(09:14):
few people hear it.
You know, excuse me, becausethe longer I wear my retainer,
the less the speech impedimentis heard and unless you have a
trained ear, you won't hear it.
This is good to me.
I know I haven't said much yet,but I know I'm looking at my
(09:35):
journal, because I have myjournal sitting right beside me
because when I tell you, god wasdealing with me on this little
piece of tool to keep my teethstraight.
I was just like blown me onthis little piece of, this
little piece of tool to keep myteeth straight.
I was just like blown, likeblown.
So the retainer holds my teethin place after having braces
removed.
So let's deep dive into thisnow.
The braces were there tocorrect something that was not
(10:03):
formed correctly.
Now I had my original teeth, myoriginal smile had a gap, and I
remember just specificallyhaving my first encounter with
the tooth fairy.
I'm doing air quotes I reallyneed to do video so y'all can
see my animated self but Iremember my first encounter with
(10:27):
the tooth fairy and how thetooth fairy left me some money,
okay.
So I figured out you know, Ilose my teeth, then I get some
money, right, kid logic.
So when my front teeth becameloose, I was like, okay, y'all
not falling out fast enough, soI decided to help them along by
trying to pull them out.
(10:48):
In me doing that, trying torush the process of what was
naturally going to happen, Iended up making my gap worse and
so my front teeth actually hada gap and then they kind of like
scooped up to where they were,like poking out of my gums.
It was a mess, child.
(11:08):
It was a mess.
I should have never done that.
And that's kind of like how wedo in life.
We know that there's a naturalprocess to things, but then we
rush the process, we get aheadof God.
We have our Abraham-Sarahmoment.
You know, when God goes toAbraham and says you're going to
be the father of many nations,he even gives the same word to
(11:29):
Sarah that she's going to have achild.
And they're old, like in theirhundreds, and Sarah was barren.
So they go to rush the processand Sarah tells Abraham you know
, why don't you go lay with yourhandmaiden?
You know she's good and fertile.
This is Tracy, this is Tracy'sversion of the Bible.
Okay, go and lay with Hagar,your handmaiden.
(11:51):
You know she's good and fertile.
Go ahead, knock her up and wecan go ahead and get this
process going.
And that's how we do.
God gives us a word.
We don't sit down and we don'tpray.
We don't ask him.
You know, is this a now thing?
Is this a later thing?
Like, what do you want me to dowith this?
How do you want me to handlethis?
We just say, okay, bet, yeah,we got this thing, so let's go
(12:15):
ahead and get it done Because wefeel like God's timing isn't
right and my mentor tickles mewhen she says this, but it's the
truth.
God is the slowest on time.
God, the slowest on time, god.
He does not move in our time,ever and never will.
One second to us is a thousandyears to God.
So sit down somewhere and bepatient In your waiting, wait
(12:37):
with purpose, wait and work.
That's a word, that's a podcastfor another day, but anyway, so
we go and we rush this process.
So in me rushing this process ofmy natural teeth falling out, I
messed my teeth up even moreBecause my gap with my baby
teeth it wasn't that big and itprobably would have closed on
(13:01):
itself on its own, naturallywould have closed on itself on
its own, naturally.
But because in my kid logic andlooking at thinking like
getting this money, this moneyso I can go to the candy store,
get me some candy, I rushed theprocess and paid for it dearly
later in life.
And I learned in this momentwith God, where I was just
(13:23):
taking the, my retainer out ofmy mouth my new retainer,
actually, because I got some newone, but my new retainer out
God was showing me all of thislike this stemmed from when I
was a little girl, like I lostmy teeth when I was what?
Seven, eight, I don't know.
I'm somewhere around there.
So the thing about having thisretainer if I don't wear it, I
(13:47):
run the risk of my teethreverting back to their original
state.
That's what happened when thefire happened and I couldn't
wear my retainer, couldn't seemy orthodontist for a month, the
second time when I didn't wearit, the third time when I didn't
wear it, and then not beingable to get back to the
(14:07):
professional who could actuallyassist me.
That time span of waiting.
It costs me even more and a lotof times that's what we do in
life as well.
We don't go back to the one whocreated us, the one who has all
the answers.
Let me tell you something myrelationship now with God is
(14:31):
totally different than myrelationship a year ago.
It's totally different than myrelationship 10 years ago, 20
years ago.
It has, it's continuing toevolve.
One reason being is because Isit in the face of Holy Spirit.
I listen to Holy Spirit.
Now, I'm not saying that I'mperfect y'all, because sometimes
I'd be like, yeah, I don't know, I'm just being honest.
(14:55):
I'm just being honest, but HolySpirit is there to lead, guide
and direct us, to comfort us, toteach us.
And whenever I listen to theone who created me, who has all
the answers, who knows mybeginning, middle and end, who
knows and will give me anexpected end, he has thoughts of
peace and prosperity towards me.
(15:16):
He knows his thoughts towardsme.
Why wouldn't I listen to them?
So whenever I don't listen toHoly Spirit, that's when it
costs me so much, and it's it'snot just monetary stuff, y'all.
It costs me peace, it costs metime, even though God is the
redeemer of time.
A lot of times we get out ofplace because we just won't
(15:39):
listen and we have to be likethe children of Israel walking
around in the wilderness, in theforest for 40 years, when it
was an 11 day track on, track,track, walk.
And A lot of times we're a lotlike the children of Israel
because we're on this 40-yearjourney, because we're
(16:03):
complaining and murmuringbecause of the decisions that
we've made.
This is not here to bash y'all.
I'm actually not talking aboutyou.
I'm talking about me.
I know for a fact there arethings that I should have never
gotten into, but I did itbecause I was doing it out of my
own will.
I know for a fact there arethings that I should have never
gotten into, but I did itbecause I was doing it out of my
(16:25):
own will.
And the one thing I love aboutGod he's very much of a
gentleman.
And God has this permissivewill and his perfect will.
His permissive will will allowyou to get that thing that
you're asking him for, begginghim for.
He knows good will is not goodfor you.
He got something better for you.
If you just wait, but becausewe want it so bad, god's like,
all right, I'm going to give itto you.
And then we get it and it'slike, oh, this is not what I
(16:48):
really wanted.
But even God, in his grace andmercy, will still love on us
when he gives us that permissivewill.
We just got to walk through thatprocess a little bit longer.
So sit down somewhere, tracy.
Sit down and just listen to theone who created you and knows
(17:09):
all okay.
And you know, like I said, Ican't talk about you.
If that fit, you insert yourname where I said Tracy.
If that fit you, okay, becauseI can't.
I ain't talking about you, I'mtalking about me, I can't talk
about you.
So back to this retainer andthis whole word God was giving
me.
And let me just say I'm so gladI didn't have a lot to do that
(17:31):
day because I was able to justsit and listen to God and write
what he was saying and just soakall of that in.
Because if I had to besomewhere that day, I don't know
what I would have done.
I would have been late, that'swhat I would have been.
I would have definitely beenlate.
So this process the first time Igot Invisalign.
(17:53):
It was exciting because I knewthe end result was going to be
beautiful.
But, just like life, sometimeswe don't know the end result and
that process can be painful, itcan be ugly, it can be scary,
but the thing is you have tokeep faith in knowing that,
(18:15):
whatever the process, theoutcome will be beautiful.
You know, nothing compares.
The suffering of this presenttime does not compare to the
glory that will be revealedlater on.
We may not like it, it may notfeel good, but, baby, that glory
is worth it.
(18:36):
Ask me how I know glory, it'sworth it.
Ask me how I know.
So when I got the Invisalign thefirst time, I went in and they
scanned my teeth because theywanted to get the.
Well, actually, the first partof this process was removing
something.
So I had a tooth that I had tohave removed, I had my wisdom
(19:01):
teeth removed, I had somespacers done because some of my
teeth were crowded.
So it was that pre-work.
That pre-work, before we got tothe work, was the thing that
was like yo, do I really want todo this?
Do I really want to do this?
Do I really want to do this?
(19:21):
And I laugh at that because Iremember God telling me I'm
probably one of the few peoplethat know like have seen a
glimpse of what my future lookslike.
I saw this years ago when I wasin my 20s.
I'm in my 40s, pushing 50 now,at the time of the recording of
this podcast.
So a lot of things that I'vedone in my life.
(19:41):
I now realize that I wasexcited and rushing the process
because God promised me thisthing right here and I want it,
like I'm excited about it.
I want it.
So there are some things thatI've done in my life.
I'm like I'm rushing theprocess and it wasn't worth it.
It set me back, it set me back,it set me back.
So, yeah, don't do that Trustthe process, but that pre-work
(20:08):
was having me think, huh, Idon't know if I really want to
do this.
Is this worth me going throughto get this smile that I'm
dreaming of, that I envision, sothat pre-work almost took me
out, vision, so that pre-workalmost took me out, because I
don't know if y'all, if you'vehad work done on your mouth.
It's something about thatdental work that is just like,
yeah, I actually, when I leavefrom recording this episode, I
(20:32):
have to go to the dentist rightafter this because I cracked my
tooth and I have to go get thatfixed.
So I'm not looking forward toit.
Y'all pray for me.
Okay, I don't mind going to thedentist, it's just that after
thing, and, and as much money asI spent on these teeth and the
processes I've had to go through, um, I want to keep all my
(20:55):
teeth in my mouth, so I'm goingto go.
I don't like it mouth, so I'mgonna go.
I don't like it, but I'm gonnago.
Anyway, I digress.
So we get the pre-work done outof the way and I go in and they
scan my teeth because they needto get an accurate account of
what my my teeth are lookinglike.
So what they do is they sendthat original scan off and they
(21:17):
give you they.
Your first trays come in.
So the trays come in based offof the progress.
So I think I change trays everyeight weeks, if memory serves
me correctly.
It may not, because this hasbeen a long time ago, y'all.
So this is with Invisalign, andremember, I've had traditional
(21:37):
braces, the metal braces, andInvisalign.
With the Invisalign, the firsttime they scan your teeth, they
send your scans off.
Your trays are custom-made foryou.
With that customization, mytrays will not fit anybody
(21:58):
else's mouth but mine.
Okay, here's what God showed me,in that you know how we get
caught up in social media posts.
We look at other people's livesand you know we may sometimes
get sad that we may not be inthe same position or better, or
(22:20):
whatever.
Their life was custom made forthem.
Your life is custom made foryou.
If you try to do something thatthey're doing, it may not work,
because God has not put hisanointing on you to do that.
He has not graced you to dothat.
(22:41):
So, instead of looking atsomebody else's life, you can be
inspired, because there are alot of people's lives who
inspire me.
There's many people on socialmedia who inspire me, but at the
end of the day I realize thatthey're showing me their
highlight reels.
I don't know what they've hadto go through to get to where
(23:02):
they are or maintain where theyare.
I don't know if they're happy.
I don't know if they have joy.
I don't know nothing exceptwhat they show me, and that's
the thing about invisiblealignment.
Nobody knows that I've hadbraces three times, unless I
(23:23):
tell them.
Nobody knows the process that Ihad to go through to get the
smile that I have today.
Nobody knows.
Nobody knows what I have to doto maintain the smile that I
have today.
And I'm not.
(23:43):
I hope y'all are catching this,because I'm not just talking
about my physical smile, like myteeth.
I'm talking about my spiritualsmile, my mental smile, my
emotional smile, my financialsmile.
Nobody knows the things that Ihave to do to maintain what God
(24:05):
has given me.
In the church we say you have tobe a good steward over that,
what the Lord has blessed youwith, and that's true.
That's like for my car, forexample.
Every once in a while I have totake it to go get an oil change
, because if I don't get an oilchange.
It could lock up my engine andit's going to ruin the car.
(24:25):
I got to buy a new car.
That's like, think about it likethat with your life, the things
that you have, you have to takecare of them, whether it be
your body, whether it be yourmoney, whether it be your mind,
your health.
I can't sit here and eat pizzaevery single day and not expect
(24:47):
to not gain weight or myarteries begin to clog up.
I'm not putting anythinghealthy in my body.
I'm not moving.
I'm not doing things tomaintain, like right now, me
being on Fit, fine and Fabulousby 50, where my goal is to drop
this 100 pounds and be in thebest shape of my life by the
time I turn 50 years old.
It's work.
It is work, but you have toremember and believe and
(25:12):
constantly tell yourself andaffirm that you are worth the
work.
And if I want to stay where Iam, then I need to maintain what
I've been doing and when it'stime for me to elevate, I got to
change that script a little bit.
So back to these trays.
That first tray when I got it Iwas so excited until I put it
(25:34):
on it on Good Lord from Zion.
When you get new trays y'allthey hurt because they're
adjusting, they're shifting yourteeth to the new position're
uncomfortable, but after a fewdays you adjust and you don't
(26:14):
feel the change.
You don't feel that painanymore.
And one thing that myorthodontist would always tell
me with the new trays, rub someoral gel on your gums.
That helps alleviate the pain.
Even with the metal braces thetraditional braces you have to
go in and get them tightened.
I used to hate going andgetting my braces tightened
(26:34):
because, again, it's a smalladjustment but it hurts, and
that's the invisible part thatpeople don't see.
It's a small adjustment but ithurts and that's the invisible
part that people don't see.
People don't see those smallchanges that hurt you but they
bring the greatest reward.
(26:54):
And how do you prepare forthose small changes?
Again, I really hope y'all aregetting this.
Whenever I knew that I had toget new trays or go in and get
my braces tightened, I wouldtake Tylenol before I went in
and I would have my Orgel withme ready to go, because when
they did the tightening, rub mygums okay, rub my gums.
(27:16):
So how do you prepare in lifefor the adjustments and the
small changes, baby, if you'renot reading your bible, if
you're not studying the word ofgod, if you're not praying, if
you're not fasting, you're notgoing to be prepared.
Like think about the way theworld is right now and be funny
if it's like 200 years from now.
Somebody comes across thispodcast and they see this.
(27:39):
I hope, hope it encourages them, I hope this is encouraging you
.
But the way the state of theworld is right now there are
wars, rumors of wars, there'sfighting, there's panic, there's
chaos.
There's just so much happening.
But I'm going to tell you who'snot fazed by it?
Me why?
(27:59):
Because the way I sit in God'sface, I pray every morning when
I get up.
I pray throughout the day.
I pray before I go to bed.
I have my own little Biblestudies.
I fellowship with otherChristian women who give me
encouraging words.
I give them encouraging words.
(28:21):
This is how I fight my battles.
I did not mean for that to comeout, it just did.
I thought about the song, butthis is how I prepare.
It's that pre-work Before thechaos, the destruction, the
crazy comes.
I'm putting myself in aposition to where, if it comes
(28:43):
not even if when it comes I'mI'm shaken but I ain't stirred
Because I don't want people tothink that just because I stay,
you know you stay with God thatit won't impact you.
It will, but the way that itimpacts you.
It doesn't impact you the wayit does other people.
(29:04):
You may weep, but you don'tweep with despair, you weep in
hope.
So again, the new trades hurt,the new adjustments hurt, but it
does not compare to the glorythat will be revealed.
(29:25):
Not wearing my retainers on aregular basis costs so much.
Not maintaining like notstaying in the presence of God,
costs you so much.
You'll get involved with peoplethat you shouldn't.
Your discernment may be off alittle bit.
I can't tell you how manyrelationships I got in that I
(29:47):
wasn't supposed to be in becauseI did not consult God first,
whether it was a romanticrelationship or a business
relationship, jobs, whatever.
If I'm not consulting God first, then I'm getting myself in
some trouble, and a lot of timesit's not even a bad thing, it's
just.
Sometimes God will will giveyou like you'll be presented
(30:09):
with two great things good,really good offerings.
But are they a God thing?
Is it in God's timing?
Right now, like for, I waspresented with a really great
job offer, really great.
It was something that I dreamedof doing.
It gave me the opportunity tomove abroad.
(30:33):
It gave me the opportunity tosee the world travel, like
things that I really, really,really, really wanted.
And I accepted the offer and asI was preparing to leave, god
told me no.
He told me no.
He put the kibosh on it realquick and I was like what am I
(30:58):
going to do now?
Because I had quit my job of 16years, even though I knew it
was time to go.
I just, you know, I thought Ihad this, this job, lined up.
So I quit my job of 16 years.
I had given up my apartment,packed up my stuff was putting
things in storage, sellingthings, like really preparing to
move.
And God was like no, mm-mm, ifyou do this, this is what's
(31:20):
going to happen if you do this.
And with God showing me that,it scared me and I was like okay
, I got to quit, I can't go.
But remember when I said I quitmy job and I gave up my home, I
had nothing to go back to.
But in the midst of that, youknow what happened about six
(31:41):
months later COVID.
Covid happened and the areawhere I was traveling to was
shut down.
First, I wouldn't have beenable to get back to the United
States.
I would have had to stay inthis foreign country and they
have visa laws, they haverequirements.
So God knew.
(32:02):
But if I had consulted himfirst before accepting the job
and completely rearranging mylife, I would not have been in
the predicament that I was infor two whole years.
That invisible alignment Nobodyknows the cost of it.
(32:23):
So and when I say the cost,again, it's not just monetary
things, even though sometimesthe money is attached to the
cost of things.
But if I tell you how much Ipaid for these braces y'all, all
three times, you're going to belike girl dedication.
(32:48):
I have a used car in my mouth.
Yeah, that's why I'm like I'mgonna keep these teeth all right
.
So people again, people don'tsee my retainer unless they're
really looking closely at mymouth.
So people won't really see thesmall adjustments you make or
the differences that you have,the shakeups excuse me, the
shakeups that you have in yourlife, unless they're looking
(33:09):
really closely at their life.
And honestly, some people do,some people don't.
I had to take a sip of wateryall, sorry, my voice is getting
my throat is dry but somepeople really look closely at
your life and some people don't.
I was at lunch a few weeks agowith some friends and I got so
(33:30):
tickled because the one of myfriend's daughters is in college
and she got new roommates andone of her roommates told her
that she has her life togetherbecause she has matching pajamas
and we thought that washilarious because we were like
that's what it takes.
So all the pajama sets that Ihave and my little calf cans
honey, I be fancy when I go tobed.
(33:51):
Sometimes my life is together.
No, no, and I say that my lifeis not together because I'm
forever changing and evolvingand growing.
There are some parts of my lifethat are really good, some
parts are not, and those are theparts that we're working on.
But unless somebody is close toyou, they can't tell.
(34:12):
When you've made an adjustment,whether it be small, and trust
those small adjustments.
That tiny alignment creates biggains.
That end result will be big,because if y'all look at some of
my pictures from back in theday when I had that gap, and you
see my smile now, you'd be likeyo, your Adonis was a miracle
(34:38):
worker.
Don't y'all talk about me likethat.
Don't y'all talk about me likethat Don't do it.
And all of this comes back tothe fact that God knows, all,
sees all.
He loves us, he wants what'sbest for us, he knows what's
(35:06):
best for us.
But we get so bent out of shapesometimes because our process
looks different than somebodyelse's.
Our journey is different, ourhealing is different, our lives
are different, but yet our livesare tailor-made, custom-made
for us.
And if we finally get in theposition where we're thinking
(35:29):
about yo, nothing can separateme from the love of God, and he
loves me so much that he tookhis sweet time, he did his big
one on me.
When you start getting into thatmindset, you'll forget about
what everybody else is doing.
(35:50):
It won't even concern you, itwon't bother you, it won't even
make a difference in your life.
Again, you can be inspired, butthat inspiration isn't required
.
There are parts of my lifewhere I inspire myself, like I
look at all the things that Godhas brought me through by going
(36:10):
through my old journals orlooking in my gratitude journal,
like just thinking about thingsthat God has done in my life.
Or if I'm having a quiet momentand Holy Spirit will bring back
to my memory some of the things, it's like, wow, you really
love me like that, like youreally rock with me like that.
So when you start looking atyour life as inspiration, all
(36:37):
this other stuff won't evenmatter, and that's my prayer for
you.
I pray that your own lifeinspires you and I really hope
that you do find someinspiration in your life,
because some of you I do knowwho listen are dealing with
grief, you're dealing withdepression, you're dealing with
heartache.
You're dealing with some reallyheavy, heavy things.
(36:58):
But I pray that you will findone thing about your life that
inspires you.
I am a trauma survivor and onething that I'm inspired about in
my life is the fact that all ofthis trauma has made me so
resilient.
It has made me empathetic, ithas made me love people, in
(37:23):
spite of what they do or say.
I'm going to love you and Iappreciate my life even more
because of the things that Godhas brought me through.
So I pray that you are inspiredby your own life.
I pray that you find joy insomething so small.
(37:47):
Just make a small adjustmentand see what the Lord will do
for you.
So I know I kind of talked inparables.
So I know I kind of talked inparables, but I really hope that
you found something inspiringin this message and I really
(38:10):
didn't go into great detailbecause, again, I have my
journal sitting beside me andthere's so much more that I can
say, but a lot of it is personaland I just don't believe in
putting my personal stuff outthere until you know God says so
.
So I'm not released to say thisright now, but you'll see it.
I may not say it, but you'llsee it, but I really do hope
(38:34):
that this and other episodesinspire you.
I pray that you continue tocome back and listen, because we
do have a good time over hereand, as always, I just
appreciate you all.
You know I'm thankful.
I'm so very, very grateful, sovery thankful, excuse me, for
God allowing me to have thisplatform and I know podcasts are
(38:56):
a dime a dozen now there's somany of them, but I pray that I
continue to put out good stuffand that it helps you, because
if I don't have nothinginspiring to say, I ain't gonna
talk.
Okay, but that's it for thisweek, y'all.
I hope you come back next weekand just join us here on the
charging station, here on thecouchy couch.
Again, let me know if thisepisode helped you in some kind
(39:18):
of way, but always remember Godloves you, I love you.
It ain't nothing you can doabout it.
Boo bye.
What's good everybody .
Welcome to the Charging Station.
It your girl, tracy Massey ofLiving my Empowered Life.
Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, what'sgoing on?
If you are a returning listener, welcome back, boo.
You know I love me some.
You.
Thank you for joining me forthe shenanigans on the couchy
couch.
Once again, if you are new here, welcome.
(00:45):
I'm so glad to have you here.
I don't take it lightly thatyou could be doing anything,
listening to anybody, but you'relending me your ear.
For this, these few moments,these precious moments.
I thank you and I hope that youcome back.
I hope you stay.
I hope you become a proudmember of the power squad.
That's who we are over here.
So, yeah, I just had to take myglasses off y'all because
(01:07):
they're filthy, jeez, no wondereverything's blurry.
Go ahead and make sure thatyou're following me on all of
the socials you can find me atLiving my Empowered Life on
Facebook, tiktok, instagram,youtube, and I feel like I'm
forgetting something.
Oh, threads I actually wentviral on threads y'all.
(01:29):
That's crazy to me and makesure that you are.
Whatever platform you'relistening to this podcast on,
make sure you subscribe orfollow whichever one they
require you to do.
Make sure you rate and leave areview, because your ratings and
your reviews help get thepodcast out to more listeners.
You can also at the show notes.
(01:51):
On the show notes there's alink for you to text me.
If you send me a text, I willread your text on the next
episode.
So make sure that you text me.
I can't reply back in writingjust yet they haven't figured
out how to do that just yet butI will read your text and
respond to you on the nextepisode.
Also, if you leave a review,I'll read those reviews as well
(02:14):
and shout you out on my socialmedia.
And all that Because you knowthis is an interactive podcast.
Even though you're not in thestudio with me recording, you
are with me on the couch, allright.
So we you know, we cool overhere, we vibes, we vibes over
here, yeah, so I think that'severything.
Got all the housekeeping stuffout of the way, so I know why
(02:36):
you're here.
So let's get into the contentthis week's episode, all right.
So y'all all right.
I don't know about you, but theway God talks to me, I mean
he's so creative, right?
I mean he's the creator of allcreations, so he's so creative.
But the way God talks to me, itblows my mind most of the
(03:01):
majority of the time.
So I'm in my bathroom right andI am getting ready for the day,
doing my skincare routine,saying my affirmations.
Got my worship music playing inthe background.
It's a whole vibe in themornings.
I have a whole morning routine.
(03:21):
I can share my morning routinewith y'all on the socials if you
want.
Just let me know.
But I'm getting ready for theday and I go to take my retainer
out.
So if you don't know, if you'renew to me, I've had braces three
times.
Yeah, yeah, and I actually gotbraces when I was in my 30s
(03:42):
because my mom could not affordbraces.
So I had to walk my entirechildhood with these teeth that
I was very self-conscious about.
So when I got in a positionwhere I had some good insurance
and was making you know I'mstarting my career and
(04:05):
everything when I got in aposition where I could get
braces, I got them and I was 30.
Was I 30 or 31?
I was in my early 30s, but Igot braces for the first time
and I got Invisalign.
Now, why did I have bracesthree times?
I'm just going to go ahead andgive you all the gist of why,
(04:25):
and we'll go into further.
You know you'll see how thisplays along.
But I got braces three times.
The first time, great,everything was groovy.
The second time, there was afire in my old apartment complex
.
One of my neighbors was playingchemist, from what I was told,
and it blew up.
They blew up their apartmentand my apartment was right next
(04:50):
to theirs Like we shared a wall,and so at that time I was
getting ready to go somewhere.
So I had my retainer out on thecounter and because of the fire
and the smoke, damage and thesoot, the firemen were like no,
you got to throw this retaineraway.
You can't, we can't clean it,we can't, we're not gonna have
let you put this in your mouthor whatever child.
(05:13):
I was trying to save money.
I know, I know, I know whowould want a sooty retainer
anyway.
But I was like y'all don't knowhow much I paid for this the
round.
Y'all was over 5 Gs.
Okay, thank God for insuranceand healthcare savings, flexible
spending accounts, okay.
So I had to call my orthodontistand say, hey, I need a new
(05:36):
retainer.
And what happened was theycouldn't get me in for like a
month happened was they couldn'tget me in for like a month.
Well, since they couldn't getme in in like a month, my teeth
were like, woohoo, we free.
So by the time I got back tothe orthodontist, my teeth had
shifted and had started to moveback to their original form.
(05:58):
So I had to get braces, andthis time we got wire braces.
So I had to get braces, andthis time we got wire braces.
So I had to wear that for likea year and then, the third time,
I lost my retainer.
So I only had one one retainerat the time and I lost it.
Come to find out years later,when I moved, I found that thing
(06:22):
behind my couch.
But again, because I couldn'tget into the orthodontist office
for like a month, I had to waitand when I got there they were
like, yeah, we're shifting again.
So now we got to get the bracesagain.
So that was the third time.
So why am I telling y'all aboutmy braces?
Because this is what God had toshow me while I was standing in
(06:45):
the bathroom removing myretainer to brush and care for
my teeth.
What he showed me, I am goingto share with you right now.
You might, you might, want togo ahead, grab your coffee, grab
your tea, grab your water, grabyour wine, whatever your
beverage of choice is, bro, goahead and grab it and have a
seat right here on the couch,because this is about to get
(07:07):
deep a little bit, all right.
So here we go.
God showed me through myretainer what alignment looks
like and the cost of alignmentthe cost of nobody seeing you
(07:28):
being aligned, the pain ofalignment and how invisible
alignment can be.
Baby, listen, listen, listen,listen, listen.
I know you're trying to digestthat, I know you're trying to
digest that.
How did I get all this fromtaking my retainer out of my
mouth?
All right, then let's go.
So I had to look up thedefinition of the word retainer,
(07:49):
because I love words, I lovedefinitions, I'm a little bit of
a nerd.
I love to study stuff.
This is the kind of stuff thatfascinates me.
Okay, so go with me, and I knowthis kind of stuff fascinates
you too, because you wouldn't behere.
We vibe, we're similar, so youenjoy the stuff too.
So the definition of the wordretainer not the retainer that
you do for an attorney or toretain services from somebody,
(08:12):
but a retainer is a thing thatholds something in place.
So remember when I said I hadbraces three times, every time I
didn't wear my retainer orcouldn't get to the orthodontist
to get, you know, aligned again, my teeth were shifting back to
its original form, thatretainer that I wear faithfully
(08:32):
now, if I sound funny right now,it's because I'm wearing it.
That retainer keeps things inplace.
That retainer keeps my teethfrom shifting back to its
original form, which wasmisaligned.
It had gaps, huh, girl.
(08:53):
So this retainer, though it'ssmall and it's clear, you can't
really see it unless you likelooking directly into my mouth
or you don't even know I have iton unless I pronounce my s is a
little different.
You know, sometimes, when you,when you first put the retainer
in, you're gonna, you're gonnasound a little funny, but very
(09:14):
few people hear it.
You know, excuse me, becausethe longer I wear my retainer,
the less the speech impedimentis heard and unless you have a
trained ear, you won't hear it.
This is good to me.
I know I haven't said much yet,but I know I'm looking at my
(09:35):
journal, because I have myjournal sitting right beside me
because when I tell you, god wasdealing with me on this little
piece of tool to keep my teethstraight.
I was just like blown me onthis little piece of, this
little piece of tool to keep myteeth straight.
I was just like blown, likeblown.
So the retainer holds my teethin place after having braces
removed.
So let's deep dive into thisnow.
The braces were there tocorrect something that was not
(10:03):
formed correctly.
Now I had my original teeth, myoriginal smile had a gap, and I
remember just specificallyhaving my first encounter with
the tooth fairy.
I'm doing air quotes I reallyneed to do video so y'all can
see my animated self but Iremember my first encounter with
(10:27):
the tooth fairy and how thetooth fairy left me some money,
okay.
So I figured out you know, Ilose my teeth, then I get some
money, right, kid logic.
So when my front teeth becameloose, I was like, okay, y'all
not falling out fast enough, soI decided to help them along by
trying to pull them out.
(10:48):
In me doing that, trying torush the process of what was
naturally going to happen, Iended up making my gap worse and
so my front teeth actually hada gap and then they kind of like
scooped up to where they were,like poking out of my gums.
It was a mess, child.
(11:08):
It was a mess.
I should have never done that.
And that's kind of like how wedo in life.
We know that there's a naturalprocess to things, but then we
rush the process, we get aheadof God.
We have our Abraham-Sarahmoment.
You know, when God goes toAbraham and says you're going to
be the father of many nations,he even gives the same word to
(11:29):
Sarah that she's going to have achild.
And they're old, like in theirhundreds, and Sarah was barren.
So they go to rush the processand Sarah tells Abraham you know
, why don't you go lay with yourhandmaiden?
You know she's good and fertile.
This is Tracy, this is Tracy'sversion of the Bible.
Okay, go and lay with Hagar,your handmaiden.
(11:51):
You know she's good and fertile.
Go ahead, knock her up and wecan go ahead and get this
process going.
And that's how we do.
God gives us a word.
We don't sit down and we don'tpray.
We don't ask him.
You know, is this a now thing?
Is this a later thing?
Like, what do you want me to dowith this?
How do you want me to handlethis?
We just say, okay, bet, yeah,we got this thing, so let's go
(12:15):
ahead and get it done Because wefeel like God's timing isn't
right and my mentor tickles mewhen she says this, but it's the
truth.
God is the slowest on time.
God, the slowest on time, god.
He does not move in our time,ever and never will.
One second to us is a thousandyears to God.
So sit down somewhere and bepatient In your waiting, wait
(12:37):
with purpose, wait and work.
That's a word, that's a podcastfor another day, but anyway, so
we go and we rush this process.
So in me rushing this process ofmy natural teeth falling out, I
messed my teeth up even moreBecause my gap with my baby
teeth it wasn't that big and itprobably would have closed on
(13:01):
itself on its own, naturallywould have closed on itself on
its own, naturally.
But because in my kid logic andlooking at thinking like
getting this money, this moneyso I can go to the candy store,
get me some candy, I rushed theprocess and paid for it dearly
later in life.
And I learned in this momentwith God, where I was just
(13:23):
taking the, my retainer out ofmy mouth my new retainer,
actually, because I got some newone, but my new retainer out
God was showing me all of thislike this stemmed from when I
was a little girl, like I lostmy teeth when I was what?
Seven, eight, I don't know.
I'm somewhere around there.
So the thing about having thisretainer if I don't wear it, I
(13:47):
run the risk of my teethreverting back to their original
state.
That's what happened when thefire happened and I couldn't
wear my retainer, couldn't seemy orthodontist for a month, the
second time when I didn't wearit, the third time when I didn't
wear it, and then not beingable to get back to the
(14:07):
professional who could actuallyassist me.
That time span of waiting.
It costs me even more and a lotof times that's what we do in
life as well.
We don't go back to the one whocreated us, the one who has all
the answers.
Let me tell you something myrelationship now with God is
(14:31):
totally different than myrelationship a year ago.
It's totally different than myrelationship 10 years ago, 20
years ago.
It has, it's continuing toevolve.
One reason being is because Isit in the face of Holy Spirit.
I listen to Holy Spirit.
Now, I'm not saying that I'mperfect y'all, because sometimes
I'd be like, yeah, I don't know, I'm just being honest.
(14:55):
I'm just being honest, but HolySpirit is there to lead, guide
and direct us, to comfort us, toteach us.
And whenever I listen to theone who created me, who has all
the answers, who knows mybeginning, middle and end, who
knows and will give me anexpected end, he has thoughts of
peace and prosperity towards me.
(15:16):
He knows his thoughts towardsme.
Why wouldn't I listen to them?
So whenever I don't listen toHoly Spirit, that's when it
costs me so much, and it's it'snot just monetary stuff, y'all.
It costs me peace, it costs metime, even though God is the
redeemer of time.
A lot of times we get out ofplace because we just won't
(15:39):
listen and we have to be likethe children of Israel walking
around in the wilderness, in theforest for 40 years, when it
was an 11 day track on, track,track, walk.
And A lot of times we're a lotlike the children of Israel
because we're on this 40-yearjourney, because we're
(16:03):
complaining and murmuringbecause of the decisions that
we've made.
This is not here to bash y'all.
I'm actually not talking aboutyou.
I'm talking about me.
I know for a fact there arethings that I should have never
gotten into, but I did itbecause I was doing it out of my
own will.
I know for a fact there arethings that I should have never
gotten into, but I did itbecause I was doing it out of my
(16:25):
own will.
And the one thing I love aboutGod he's very much of a
gentleman.
And God has this permissivewill and his perfect will.
His permissive will will allowyou to get that thing that
you're asking him for, begginghim for.
He knows good will is not goodfor you.
He got something better for you.
If you just wait, but becausewe want it so bad, god's like,
all right, I'm going to give itto you.
And then we get it and it'slike, oh, this is not what I
(16:48):
really wanted.
But even God, in his grace andmercy, will still love on us
when he gives us that permissivewill.
We just got to walk through thatprocess a little bit longer.
So sit down somewhere, tracy.
Sit down and just listen to theone who created you and knows
(17:09):
all okay.
And you know, like I said, Ican't talk about you.
If that fit, you insert yourname where I said Tracy.
If that fit you, okay, becauseI can't.
I ain't talking about you, I'mtalking about me, I can't talk
about you.
So back to this retainer andthis whole word God was giving
me.
And let me just say I'm so gladI didn't have a lot to do that
(17:31):
day because I was able to justsit and listen to God and write
what he was saying and just soakall of that in.
Because if I had to besomewhere that day, I don't know
what I would have done.
I would have been late, that'swhat I would have been.
I would have definitely beenlate.
So this process the first time Igot Invisalign.
(17:53):
It was exciting because I knewthe end result was going to be
beautiful.
But, just like life, sometimeswe don't know the end result and
that process can be painful, itcan be ugly, it can be scary,
but the thing is you have tokeep faith in knowing that,
(18:15):
whatever the process, theoutcome will be beautiful.
You know, nothing compares.
The suffering of this presenttime does not compare to the
glory that will be revealedlater on.
We may not like it, it may notfeel good, but, baby, that glory
is worth it.
(18:36):
Ask me how I know glory, it'sworth it.
Ask me how I know.
So when I got the Invisalign thefirst time, I went in and they
scanned my teeth because theywanted to get the.
Well, actually, the first partof this process was removing
something.
So I had a tooth that I had tohave removed, I had my wisdom
(19:01):
teeth removed, I had somespacers done because some of my
teeth were crowded.
So it was that pre-work.
That pre-work, before we got tothe work, was the thing that
was like yo, do I really want todo this?
Do I really want to do this?
Do I really want to do this?
(19:21):
And I laugh at that because Iremember God telling me I'm
probably one of the few peoplethat know like have seen a
glimpse of what my future lookslike.
I saw this years ago when I wasin my 20s.
I'm in my 40s, pushing 50 now,at the time of the recording of
this podcast.
So a lot of things that I'vedone in my life.
(19:41):
I now realize that I wasexcited and rushing the process
because God promised me thisthing right here and I want it,
like I'm excited about it.
I want it.
So there are some things thatI've done in my life.
I'm like I'm rushing theprocess and it wasn't worth it.
It set me back, it set me back,it set me back.
So, yeah, don't do that Trustthe process, but that pre-work
(20:08):
was having me think, huh, Idon't know if I really want to
do this.
Is this worth me going throughto get this smile that I'm
dreaming of, that I envision, sothat pre-work almost took me
out, vision, so that pre-workalmost took me out, because I
don't know if y'all, if you'vehad work done on your mouth.
It's something about thatdental work that is just like,
yeah, I actually, when I leavefrom recording this episode, I
(20:32):
have to go to the dentist rightafter this because I cracked my
tooth and I have to go get thatfixed.
So I'm not looking forward toit.
Y'all pray for me.
Okay, I don't mind going to thedentist, it's just that after
thing, and, and as much money asI spent on these teeth and the
processes I've had to go through, um, I want to keep all my
(20:55):
teeth in my mouth, so I'm goingto go.
I don't like it mouth, so I'mgonna go.
I don't like it, but I'm gonnago.
Anyway, I digress.
So we get the pre-work done outof the way and I go in and they
scan my teeth because they needto get an accurate account of
what my my teeth are lookinglike.
So what they do is they sendthat original scan off and they
(21:17):
give you they.
Your first trays come in.
So the trays come in based offof the progress.
So I think I change trays everyeight weeks, if memory serves
me correctly.
It may not, because this hasbeen a long time ago, y'all.
So this is with Invisalign, andremember, I've had traditional
(21:37):
braces, the metal braces, andInvisalign.
With the Invisalign, the firsttime they scan your teeth, they
send your scans off.
Your trays are custom-made foryou.
With that customization, mytrays will not fit anybody
(21:58):
else's mouth but mine.
Okay, here's what God showed me,in that you know how we get
caught up in social media posts.
We look at other people's livesand you know we may sometimes
get sad that we may not be inthe same position or better, or
(22:20):
whatever.
Their life was custom made forthem.
Your life is custom made foryou.
If you try to do something thatthey're doing, it may not work,
because God has not put hisanointing on you to do that.
He has not graced you to dothat.
(22:41):
So, instead of looking atsomebody else's life, you can be
inspired, because there are alot of people's lives who
inspire me.
There's many people on socialmedia who inspire me, but at the
end of the day I realize thatthey're showing me their
highlight reels.
I don't know what they've hadto go through to get to where
(23:02):
they are or maintain where theyare.
I don't know if they're happy.
I don't know if they have joy.
I don't know nothing exceptwhat they show me, and that's
the thing about invisiblealignment.
Nobody knows that I've hadbraces three times, unless I
(23:23):
tell them.
Nobody knows the process that Ihad to go through to get the
smile that I have today.
Nobody knows.
Nobody knows what I have to doto maintain the smile that I
have today.
And I'm not.
(23:43):
I hope y'all are catching this,because I'm not just talking
about my physical smile, like myteeth.
I'm talking about my spiritualsmile, my mental smile, my
emotional smile, my financialsmile.
Nobody knows the things that Ihave to do to maintain what God
(24:05):
has given me.
In the church we say you have tobe a good steward over that,
what the Lord has blessed youwith, and that's true.
That's like for my car, forexample.
Every once in a while I have totake it to go get an oil change
, because if I don't get an oilchange.
It could lock up my engine andit's going to ruin the car.
(24:25):
I got to buy a new car.
That's like, think about it likethat with your life, the things
that you have, you have to takecare of them, whether it be
your body, whether it be yourmoney, whether it be your mind,
your health.
I can't sit here and eat pizzaevery single day and not expect
(24:47):
to not gain weight or myarteries begin to clog up.
I'm not putting anythinghealthy in my body.
I'm not moving.
I'm not doing things tomaintain, like right now, me
being on Fit, fine and Fabulousby 50, where my goal is to drop
this 100 pounds and be in thebest shape of my life by the
time I turn 50 years old.
It's work.
It is work, but you have toremember and believe and
(25:12):
constantly tell yourself andaffirm that you are worth the
work.
And if I want to stay where Iam, then I need to maintain what
I've been doing and when it'stime for me to elevate, I got to
change that script a little bit.
So back to these trays.
That first tray when I got it Iwas so excited until I put it
(25:34):
on it on Good Lord from Zion.
When you get new trays y'allthey hurt because they're
adjusting, they're shifting yourteeth to the new position're
uncomfortable, but after a fewdays you adjust and you don't
(26:14):
feel the change.
You don't feel that painanymore.
And one thing that myorthodontist would always tell
me with the new trays, rub someoral gel on your gums.
That helps alleviate the pain.
Even with the metal braces thetraditional braces you have to
go in and get them tightened.
I used to hate going andgetting my braces tightened
(26:34):
because, again, it's a smalladjustment but it hurts, and
that's the invisible part thatpeople don't see.
It's a small adjustment but ithurts and that's the invisible
part that people don't see.
People don't see those smallchanges that hurt you but they
bring the greatest reward.
(26:54):
And how do you prepare forthose small changes?
Again, I really hope y'all aregetting this.
Whenever I knew that I had toget new trays or go in and get
my braces tightened, I wouldtake Tylenol before I went in
and I would have my Orgel withme ready to go, because when
they did the tightening, rub mygums okay, rub my gums.
(27:16):
So how do you prepare in lifefor the adjustments and the
small changes, baby, if you'renot reading your bible, if
you're not studying the word ofgod, if you're not praying, if
you're not fasting, you're notgoing to be prepared.
Like think about the way theworld is right now and be funny
if it's like 200 years from now.
Somebody comes across thispodcast and they see this.
(27:39):
I hope, hope it encourages them, I hope this is encouraging you
.
But the way the state of theworld is right now there are
wars, rumors of wars, there'sfighting, there's panic, there's
chaos.
There's just so much happening.
But I'm going to tell you who'snot fazed by it?
Me why?
(27:59):
Because the way I sit in God'sface, I pray every morning when
I get up.
I pray throughout the day.
I pray before I go to bed.
I have my own little Biblestudies.
I fellowship with otherChristian women who give me
encouraging words.
I give them encouraging words.
(28:21):
This is how I fight my battles.
I did not mean for that to comeout, it just did.
I thought about the song, butthis is how I prepare.
It's that pre-work Before thechaos, the destruction, the
crazy comes.
I'm putting myself in aposition to where, if it comes
(28:43):
not even if when it comes I'mI'm shaken but I ain't stirred
Because I don't want people tothink that just because I stay,
you know you stay with God thatit won't impact you.
It will, but the way that itimpacts you.
It doesn't impact you the wayit does other people.
(29:04):
You may weep, but you don'tweep with despair, you weep in
hope.
So again, the new trades hurt,the new adjustments hurt, but it
does not compare to the glorythat will be revealed.
(29:25):
Not wearing my retainers on aregular basis costs so much.
Not maintaining like notstaying in the presence of God,
costs you so much.
You'll get involved with peoplethat you shouldn't.
Your discernment may be off alittle bit.
I can't tell you how manyrelationships I got in that I
(29:47):
wasn't supposed to be in becauseI did not consult God first,
whether it was a romanticrelationship or a business
relationship, jobs, whatever.
If I'm not consulting God first, then I'm getting myself in
some trouble, and a lot of timesit's not even a bad thing, it's
just.
Sometimes God will will giveyou like you'll be presented
(30:09):
with two great things good,really good offerings.
But are they a God thing?
Is it in God's timing?
Right now, like for, I waspresented with a really great
job offer, really great.
It was something that I dreamedof doing.
It gave me the opportunity tomove abroad.
(30:33):
It gave me the opportunity tosee the world travel, like
things that I really, really,really, really wanted.
And I accepted the offer and asI was preparing to leave, god
told me no.
He told me no.
He put the kibosh on it realquick and I was like what am I
(30:58):
going to do now?
Because I had quit my job of 16years, even though I knew it
was time to go.
I just, you know, I thought Ihad this, this job, lined up.
So I quit my job of 16 years.
I had given up my apartment,packed up my stuff was putting
things in storage, sellingthings, like really preparing to
move.
And God was like no, mm-mm, ifyou do this, this is what's
(31:20):
going to happen if you do this.
And with God showing me that,it scared me and I was like okay
, I got to quit, I can't go.
But remember when I said I quitmy job and I gave up my home, I
had nothing to go back to.
But in the midst of that, youknow what happened about six
(31:41):
months later COVID.
Covid happened and the areawhere I was traveling to was
shut down.
First, I wouldn't have beenable to get back to the United
States.
I would have had to stay inthis foreign country and they
have visa laws, they haverequirements.
So God knew.
(32:02):
But if I had consulted himfirst before accepting the job
and completely rearranging mylife, I would not have been in
the predicament that I was infor two whole years.
That invisible alignment Nobodyknows the cost of it.
(32:23):
So and when I say the cost,again, it's not just monetary
things, even though sometimesthe money is attached to the
cost of things.
But if I tell you how much Ipaid for these braces y'all, all
three times, you're going to belike girl dedication.
(32:48):
I have a used car in my mouth.
Yeah, that's why I'm like I'mgonna keep these teeth all right
.
So people again, people don'tsee my retainer unless they're
really looking closely at mymouth.
So people won't really see thesmall adjustments you make or
the differences that you have,the shakeups excuse me, the
shakeups that you have in yourlife, unless they're looking
(33:09):
really closely at their life.
And honestly, some people do,some people don't.
I had to take a sip of wateryall, sorry, my voice is getting
my throat is dry but somepeople really look closely at
your life and some people don't.
I was at lunch a few weeks agowith some friends and I got so
(33:30):
tickled because the one of myfriend's daughters is in college
and she got new roommates andone of her roommates told her
that she has her life togetherbecause she has matching pajamas
and we thought that washilarious because we were like
that's what it takes.
So all the pajama sets that Ihave and my little calf cans
honey, I be fancy when I go tobed.
(33:51):
Sometimes my life is together.
No, no, and I say that my lifeis not together because I'm
forever changing and evolvingand growing.
There are some parts of my lifethat are really good, some
parts are not, and those are theparts that we're working on.
But unless somebody is close toyou, they can't tell.
(34:12):
When you've made an adjustment,whether it be small, and trust
those small adjustments.
That tiny alignment creates biggains.
That end result will be big,because if y'all look at some of
my pictures from back in theday when I had that gap, and you
see my smile now, you'd be likeyo, your Adonis was a miracle
(34:38):
worker.
Don't y'all talk about me likethat.
Don't y'all talk about me likethat Don't do it.
And all of this comes back tothe fact that God knows, all,
sees all.
He loves us, he wants what'sbest for us, he knows what's
(35:06):
best for us.
But we get so bent out of shapesometimes because our process
looks different than somebodyelse's.
Our journey is different, ourhealing is different, our lives
are different, but yet our livesare tailor-made, custom-made
for us.
And if we finally get in theposition where we're thinking
(35:29):
about yo, nothing can separateme from the love of God, and he
loves me so much that he tookhis sweet time, he did his big
one on me.
When you start getting into thatmindset, you'll forget about
what everybody else is doing.
(35:50):
It won't even concern you, itwon't bother you, it won't even
make a difference in your life.
Again, you can be inspired, butthat inspiration isn't required
.
There are parts of my lifewhere I inspire myself, like I
look at all the things that Godhas brought me through by going
(36:10):
through my old journals orlooking in my gratitude journal,
like just thinking about thingsthat God has done in my life.
Or if I'm having a quiet momentand Holy Spirit will bring back
to my memory some of the things, it's like, wow, you really
love me like that, like youreally rock with me like that.
So when you start looking atyour life as inspiration, all
(36:37):
this other stuff won't evenmatter, and that's my prayer for
you.
I pray that your own lifeinspires you and I really hope
that you do find someinspiration in your life,
because some of you I do knowwho listen are dealing with
grief, you're dealing withdepression, you're dealing with
heartache.
You're dealing with some reallyheavy, heavy things.
(36:58):
But I pray that you will findone thing about your life that
inspires you.
I am a trauma survivor and onething that I'm inspired about in
my life is the fact that all ofthis trauma has made me so
resilient.
It has made me empathetic, ithas made me love people, in
(37:23):
spite of what they do or say.
I'm going to love you and Iappreciate my life even more
because of the things that Godhas brought me through.
So I pray that you are inspiredby your own life.
I pray that you find joy insomething so small.
(37:47):
Just make a small adjustmentand see what the Lord will do
for you.
So I know I kind of talked inparables.
So I know I kind of talked inparables, but I really hope that
you found something inspiringin this message and I really
(38:10):
didn't go into great detailbecause, again, I have my
journal sitting beside me andthere's so much more that I can
say, but a lot of it is personaland I just don't believe in
putting my personal stuff outthere until you know God says so
.
So I'm not released to say thisright now, but you'll see it.
I may not say it, but you'llsee it, but I really do hope
(38:34):
that this and other episodesinspire you.
I pray that you continue tocome back and listen, because we
do have a good time over hereand, as always, I just
appreciate you all.
You know I'm thankful.
I'm so very, very grateful, sovery thankful, excuse me, for
God allowing me to have thisplatform and I know podcasts are
(38:56):
a dime a dozen now there's somany of them, but I pray that I
continue to put out good stuffand that it helps you, because
if I don't have nothinginspiring to say, I ain't gonna
talk.
Okay, but that's it for thisweek, y'all.
I hope you come back next weekand just join us here on the
charging station, here on thecouchy couch.
Again, let me know if thisepisode helped you in some kind
(39:18):
of way, but always remember Godloves you, I love you.
It ain't nothing you can doabout it.
Boo bye.
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