May 13, 2025 • 17 mins
Divine timing is a powerful force guiding us through life's journey, even when—especially when—doors seem to close in our faces. What appears as rejection might actually be protection, steering us away from paths not meant for us and toward opportunities perfectly aligned with our purpose.
Today's episode explores my personal journey of transformation that began with a seemingly small rejection. After not being selected to speak on a panel I desperately wanted to join, I discovered something surprising. That "no" ignited a fire within me that birthed the Thrive Like a Mother podcast. I wasn't ready yet. I hadn't found my authentic voice. I was still hiding parts of my story I thought were too dark to share.
As Kerry Washington wisely noted, "If you miss the bus, it wasn't your bus to catch." This revelation changed everything for me. Through seasons of intense hustle, an intentional slowdown during my 3rd pregnancy, and now returning to purpose with renewed clarity, I've learned to trust the process and the timing. Things really do unfold as they should when we learn to listen for guidance instead of frantically knocking on every door.
Are you currently running without direction, feeling lost in the forest of possibilities? Or perhaps you're locked in, sprinting confidently toward the door you know is yours? Wherever you are in your journey, remember that the opportunities truly meant for you won't leave without you.
Your bus is waiting for you to get crystal clear on your purpose. Take the pauses you need, embrace the rejections as redirections, and trust that you are exactly where you need to be right now. Share your "bus stories" in the DMs or tag me in your stories—I'd love to hear how divine timing has worked in your life.
Thank you so much for listening in! If anything in this episode resonated with you, it would mean the world to me if you left a review or shared it with a friend or on social media.
And don't forget to tag me so I can personally thank you for helping me get the word out.
Follow and chat with me on Instagram:
Podcast account - @thrivelikeamother.podcast
Personal account - @thrive.empowered
Sending you light and love always!
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hey, love, I'm Ebony and welcome to Thrive Like a
Mother On this podcast.
We're scared for our truth, butthat fear is what fuels us to
truly live in it.
You're in the right place ifyou feel like you're stuck in
survivor mode and you're readyto step into who you were truly
(00:20):
meant to be.
I'll share resources and toolsI use daily to help you in your
journey towards a healthiermindset and to break the wheel
of survival.
The journey may not be easy,but you won't have to face it
alone.
I'm a mama of three, healingday by day from past trauma, and
I'm on a mission to build alife I've always dreamed of but
(00:42):
never thought was possible.
So, love, if you're ready tobelieve in what's possible,
let's link arms and thrivetogether.
Hey, loves, and welcome toanother episode of the Thrive
Like a Mother podcast.
I am so grateful that you'rehere today, y'all.
(01:04):
Today's episode, today's episode, is really personal, really
personal.
First of all, let me give you aquick life update If you've
been here for a while.
Henry, my youngest, has been athome with us since he's been
born and just recently hestarted daycare.
We started him part time andthis week, y'all, he has started
(01:28):
daycare full time going intodaycare.
And when I tell you that I feltthe instant shift from the
focus really being him andreally soaking in this first
year with him, to, okay, now thefocus is me pouring back into
(01:50):
Thrive, empowered into ThriveLike a Mother, into my business,
into all of my purpose, reallyjumping in all feet in.
And so today's episode it's allabout divine timing, it's about
your purpose, it's about whathappens when you keep showing up
, even when the door does notopen right away, even when you
(02:14):
can't necessarily open that doorright away because you want to
slow down.
And so get cozy, you know, getyour favorite drink out, get
your blanket out and let's,let's have a chat.
Um, I was scrolling Instagram afew years back and it was after
(02:35):
an event that I had been at,where I was speaking on stage at
a panel and the um, the.
It was Kerry Washington.
I absolutely love her as anactress, by the way, just in
general.
But she was talking in ananalogy and she was talking
about how, if you are prayingthat you catch your bus and you
(03:02):
see the bus and you miss it,then that means that it wasn't
your bus.
And y'all, when I tell you itthat hit me straight to the core
, because there have been somany points, I think, in my life
where I have watched otherpeople show up in different ways
(03:25):
or do major things and I wouldbe like, hmm, why not me?
Let's talk about thisparticular instance where it hit
me the most, because ithappened after, like I said, at
an event that I had spoken onstage at.
Wow, you know, a 20 year old,18 year old me would have never
(03:47):
imagined in a million years thatI would be on that stage.
But just last year I hadsubmitted an application to be
on that stage and on that panel,but it wasn't my bus to catch
yet, it wasn't my turn, and Ileft the event feeling the very
(04:08):
first event, the one where Ididn't make it onto the panel.
I left that event feeling thisfire that I hadn't felt before
and that's where Thrive, like aMother, was born y'all.
From that moment, I started toshare my story in a different
way, I started to show updifferently, and so I saw myself
(04:31):
as, wow, that really, reallywasn't my bus, because I wasn't
ready, I wasn't there just yet.
In fact, I think, when Isubmitted my application I don't
even remember, like what Isubmitted the topic on.
But I can remember knowing andfeeling like, yes, that was good
(04:56):
, but is it the core of you?
Did you just share your heartin the application?
And I hadn't.
I hadn't because I wasn't readyyet.
I was still hiding everything,some very parts of me that I
thought were dark and needed tobe hidden, needed to not be seen
.
And so sometimes, sometimes,when you miss the bus, it's not
(05:26):
because you're not fast enoughor you're not moving fast enough
or you're not taking steps fastenough.
It's really because it reallyis not your bus.
God is telling you not yet it'scoming, it's coming.
That one was not the one foryou.
And when I tell y'all likeThrive, like a Mother was born
(05:48):
from that very first event whereyou know, I felt a little bit
sad that, you know, I didn'tmake it on the panel, but it was
because I needed to really sitin that audience and soak all of
it in.
I wasn't yet ready to speak.
My message to those women andthe way that I needed to speak
(06:09):
it, it was a ripple effect.
It was a ripple effect.
And from there I have now notonly been on that stage, I've
spoken on another stage now,just this past February, and
again, never in a million yearswhat I have thought that I could
do this before that catalystmoment, before that ripple
(06:32):
started.
And so I want to talk aboutsome things that that moment
sparked in me, because sometimesyou are man.
Why did that not go right forme?
Why didn't I, why couldn't Imake that happen?
Why did the door not open forme?
(06:54):
There might be three things thatyou are still needing.
Before that door opens, y'all,let me tell you I keep talking
about it.
Leaving that initial event, Ihad passion, I had clarity and I
had finally the drive to startbuilding the community that was
(07:17):
within me to build, and I hadwithin me the strength that I
needed to actually share mystory.
And so sometimes a no mightjust be the word you need to
start actually moving in theright direction.
Sometimes a no is what you needto start living in authenticity
(07:40):
.
Sometimes the no is God tellingyou you are not on the right
path for your purpose.
Find the alignment.
It's there.
He always has it there for you.
You just have to search.
You might not even be at theright door.
That could also be a case.
(08:00):
The different stages I've beenin y'all.
And I'm not even talking aboutthe stage of speaking on stage.
I mean the stages, the seasonsof life that I've been since
that pivotal moment of beingtold no and still pushing
forward, knowing that there wasstill the path out there for me,
(08:23):
knowing that the alignment thatI needed to be on was there.
There were me going full hustlemode.
Hustle hustle mode, especiallywhen I first released this
podcast.
It was just me, just like let'sgo episode every week, let's
try new things, let's do it,let's go, let's let's get it
(08:45):
going.
And then I started to burn outand so I slowed down.
I slowed down.
I made a very conscious choiceto slow down.
I took the summer off and then Ifound out that I was pregnant.
I found out I was pregnant withmy tiniest little baby boy,
(09:08):
henry, and I realized in thatmoment that the hustle had to
stop.
There was no longer any spacefor the hustle.
There was now time that Ineeded to focus on rest and
creating this little human lifethat is now on this earth.
And so I did that.
(09:30):
And in those moments you hearme talk about this in some
episodes you know how me beingin that season intentionally
caused me to have so muchreflection in what really is my
purpose.
What do I want?
Looking for the clarity,looking for the alignment and
(09:55):
asking God like, where do youneed me to be?
Where exactly do I need to go?
Because right now I'm pausedand I'm a little bit, you know,
confused, especially coming outof a season where I was burnt
out and trying to understandwhere am I taking this podcast?
(10:17):
What message do I need to sharewith my community?
What resources do I need togenerate for them?
If you know a little bit abouthuman design, I am in the
category of generator, and sothat means that I create based
(10:37):
off of the need, and so what Ireally needed to do y'all was
stop and listen, and God didthat for me.
God was like, hey, this is theperfect time for you to pause
and listen within, listen to him, listen to the steps that I
need to take, steps that I needto take and the order that I
(11:05):
need to take them in.
Sometimes, in the very earlyseasons of creating this
community, it felt like I waslike running at top speed, top,
top speed, and I needed thatslowdown.
I needed it, and when I gotthat slowdown.
When I got that slowdown, whenI got that clarity, I got the
passion again.
I got the time to actually sitjust with myself.
(11:25):
Guess what happened?
Guess what happened?
I applied to be on anotherstage and again I thought, hmm,
I'm gonna this, I'm coming to itfrom a different place this
time, and if it happens, thenthat means it was meant for me,
(11:45):
that means this door, thismoment, was for me.
If it doesn't, that means Ineed to do some more, just
listening within, listeningwithin.
(12:08):
And so I share this with y'all,because sometimes it takes
breaks.
It takes breaks to trulyunderstand your purpose, and
once you, once you do that, onceyou take the pause, sometimes
after you know maybe somethingin your life and you know a
season that says you need toslow down, or getting that
rejection, that no, once youactually take the breaks and you
(12:34):
really take time to tune in andunderstand your purpose, it
becomes easier to crush thatself doubt that's saying is this
for me?
Is this door for me?
You start showing up to doors,y'all, and you're like this is
my door, knock, knock, knock,let's go Right.
You start showing up, going updifferently, and so I want to
(13:04):
share a little bit about how itfelt being on that stage.
I've shared on my social media.
I have not yet shared on thepodcast.
So this this feels a little bitmore intimate because I'm
talking to you on the other.
So this this feels a little bitmore intimate because I'm
talking to you on the other end,whether you're wearing
headphones or listening to methrough a speaker.
I'm talking to you how it feelsto be living in a moment that
(13:32):
you once prayed for but didn'treally understand that it could
happen.
Being on this stage this pastFebruary, y'all speaking to the
women in the audience andbuilding the community, gaining
a sisterhood.
God, as I was on that stage,spoke to me and said you are
(13:59):
exactly where you need to beright now.
This, this, right here, is thebus you were supposed to get on,
this is the one.
And it was just like this quietconfirmation of like yes, this
is it, keep going.
Like, yes, this is it, keepgoing.
(14:19):
The alignment, the clarity, allof it, just like clicked into
place, clicked into place.
And so I'm talking to you Ifyou're running and you are clear
that you need to be runningright now, like I am in that
season, right now, right now,like.
(14:43):
I am in that season right now.
Now that Henry um is in daycaremost of the week, I am in that
running season right now.
But we're not running justwithout any type of direction
anymore.
We're not running looking forthe door.
I'm running for the door, Iknow is there.
And if you're in that seasonright now, love, keep running.
If you are locked in, keepgoing.
(15:06):
But if you need to pause and youfeel like you're running in,
like those movies where you knowthere's this person and they're
running in the forest and theydon't know the way out, if you
feel like that is you right nowand you need to take a pause and
a moment and take a breath, dothat, because guess what?
Your bus, the one that you'retrying to find and get on, it's
(15:30):
not going to leave without youbeing on it, because what's
meant for yours?
I really, truly believe that itis yours already.
You do not need to worry thatit's going to leave, that you're
going to miss it, because yourbus is yours.
So trust in the divine timing.
(15:52):
Crush the self-doubt withpurpose.
Run towards your door, your bus, knowing that you are running
in complete alignment with God'spurpose for you on this earth.
So trust your pace, trust theprocess.
You will catch that bus when itis your bus.
(16:14):
It's waiting for you to getcrystal clear.
So do what you need to do toget there, and I want to in
today's episode, but invitingyou guys really to share your
own bus stories with me.
Either DM me, tag me in a storyor reel anything that you wish.
(16:38):
I just I want to hear your busstories of either not catching
the bus and getting clear on wow, that wasn't meant for me.
Or knowing that you were in aseason where you are running
towards the bus and you knowthat it's your bus.
I want to hear all of thoseamazing stories.
I love you, you all Sending youalways light and love, and I
(17:01):
can't wait to see you on thenext episode.
Thank you so much for listening.
Love.
If anything in today's episoderesonated with you, share it
with your bestie, or share it onsocial media and tag me so we
can chat about it.
As always, sending you lightand love, and remember you are
worthy, you are enough and youdeserve to thrive.
Hey, love, I'm Ebony and welcome to Thrive Like a
Mother On this podcast.
We're scared for our truth, butthat fear is what fuels us to
truly live in it.
You're in the right place ifyou feel like you're stuck in
survivor mode and you're readyto step into who you were truly
(00:20):
meant to be.
I'll share resources and toolsI use daily to help you in your
journey towards a healthiermindset and to break the wheel
of survival.
The journey may not be easy,but you won't have to face it
alone.
I'm a mama of three, healingday by day from past trauma, and
I'm on a mission to build alife I've always dreamed of but
(00:42):
never thought was possible.
So, love, if you're ready tobelieve in what's possible,
let's link arms and thrivetogether.
Hey, loves, and welcome toanother episode of the Thrive
Like a Mother podcast.
I am so grateful that you'rehere today, y'all.
(01:04):
Today's episode, today's episode, is really personal, really
personal.
First of all, let me give you aquick life update If you've
been here for a while.
Henry, my youngest, has been athome with us since he's been
born and just recently hestarted daycare.
We started him part time andthis week, y'all, he has started
(01:28):
daycare full time going intodaycare.
And when I tell you that I feltthe instant shift from the
focus really being him andreally soaking in this first
year with him, to, okay, now thefocus is me pouring back into
(01:50):
Thrive, empowered into ThriveLike a Mother, into my business,
into all of my purpose, reallyjumping in all feet in.
And so today's episode it's allabout divine timing, it's about
your purpose, it's about whathappens when you keep showing up
, even when the door does notopen right away, even when you
(02:14):
can't necessarily open that doorright away because you want to
slow down.
And so get cozy, you know, getyour favorite drink out, get
your blanket out and let's,let's have a chat.
Um, I was scrolling Instagram afew years back and it was after
(02:35):
an event that I had been at,where I was speaking on stage at
a panel and the um, the.
It was Kerry Washington.
I absolutely love her as anactress, by the way, just in
general.
But she was talking in ananalogy and she was talking
about how, if you are prayingthat you catch your bus and you
(03:02):
see the bus and you miss it,then that means that it wasn't
your bus.
And y'all, when I tell you itthat hit me straight to the core
, because there have been somany points, I think, in my life
where I have watched otherpeople show up in different ways
(03:25):
or do major things and I wouldbe like, hmm, why not me?
Let's talk about thisparticular instance where it hit
me the most, because ithappened after, like I said, at
an event that I had spoken onstage at.
Wow, you know, a 20 year old,18 year old me would have never
(03:47):
imagined in a million years thatI would be on that stage.
But just last year I hadsubmitted an application to be
on that stage and on that panel,but it wasn't my bus to catch
yet, it wasn't my turn, and Ileft the event feeling the very
(04:08):
first event, the one where Ididn't make it onto the panel.
I left that event feeling thisfire that I hadn't felt before
and that's where Thrive, like aMother, was born y'all.
From that moment, I started toshare my story in a different
way, I started to show updifferently, and so I saw myself
(04:31):
as, wow, that really, reallywasn't my bus, because I wasn't
ready, I wasn't there just yet.
In fact, I think, when Isubmitted my application I don't
even remember, like what Isubmitted the topic on.
But I can remember knowing andfeeling like, yes, that was good
(04:56):
, but is it the core of you?
Did you just share your heartin the application?
And I hadn't.
I hadn't because I wasn't readyyet.
I was still hiding everything,some very parts of me that I
thought were dark and needed tobe hidden, needed to not be seen
.
And so sometimes, sometimes,when you miss the bus, it's not
(05:26):
because you're not fast enoughor you're not moving fast enough
or you're not taking steps fastenough.
It's really because it reallyis not your bus.
God is telling you not yet it'scoming, it's coming.
That one was not the one foryou.
And when I tell y'all likeThrive, like a Mother was born
(05:48):
from that very first event whereyou know, I felt a little bit
sad that, you know, I didn'tmake it on the panel, but it was
because I needed to really sitin that audience and soak all of
it in.
I wasn't yet ready to speak.
My message to those women andthe way that I needed to speak
(06:09):
it, it was a ripple effect.
It was a ripple effect.
And from there I have now notonly been on that stage, I've
spoken on another stage now,just this past February, and
again, never in a million yearswhat I have thought that I could
do this before that catalystmoment, before that ripple
(06:32):
started.
And so I want to talk aboutsome things that that moment
sparked in me, because sometimesyou are man.
Why did that not go right forme?
Why didn't I, why couldn't Imake that happen?
Why did the door not open forme?
(06:54):
There might be three things thatyou are still needing.
Before that door opens, y'all,let me tell you I keep talking
about it.
Leaving that initial event, Ihad passion, I had clarity and I
had finally the drive to startbuilding the community that was
(07:17):
within me to build, and I hadwithin me the strength that I
needed to actually share mystory.
And so sometimes a no mightjust be the word you need to
start actually moving in theright direction.
Sometimes a no is what you needto start living in authenticity
(07:40):
.
Sometimes the no is God tellingyou you are not on the right
path for your purpose.
Find the alignment.
It's there.
He always has it there for you.
You just have to search.
You might not even be at theright door.
That could also be a case.
(08:00):
The different stages I've beenin y'all.
And I'm not even talking aboutthe stage of speaking on stage.
I mean the stages, the seasonsof life that I've been since
that pivotal moment of beingtold no and still pushing
forward, knowing that there wasstill the path out there for me,
(08:23):
knowing that the alignment thatI needed to be on was there.
There were me going full hustlemode.
Hustle hustle mode, especiallywhen I first released this
podcast.
It was just me, just like let'sgo episode every week, let's
try new things, let's do it,let's go, let's let's get it
(08:45):
going.
And then I started to burn outand so I slowed down.
I slowed down.
I made a very conscious choiceto slow down.
I took the summer off and then Ifound out that I was pregnant.
I found out I was pregnant withmy tiniest little baby boy,
(09:08):
henry, and I realized in thatmoment that the hustle had to
stop.
There was no longer any spacefor the hustle.
There was now time that Ineeded to focus on rest and
creating this little human lifethat is now on this earth.
And so I did that.
(09:30):
And in those moments you hearme talk about this in some
episodes you know how me beingin that season intentionally
caused me to have so muchreflection in what really is my
purpose.
What do I want?
Looking for the clarity,looking for the alignment and
(09:55):
asking God like, where do youneed me to be?
Where exactly do I need to go?
Because right now I'm pausedand I'm a little bit, you know,
confused, especially coming outof a season where I was burnt
out and trying to understandwhere am I taking this podcast?
(10:17):
What message do I need to sharewith my community?
What resources do I need togenerate for them?
If you know a little bit abouthuman design, I am in the
category of generator, and sothat means that I create based
(10:37):
off of the need, and so what Ireally needed to do y'all was
stop and listen, and God didthat for me.
God was like, hey, this is theperfect time for you to pause
and listen within, listen to him, listen to the steps that I
need to take, steps that I needto take and the order that I
(11:05):
need to take them in.
Sometimes, in the very earlyseasons of creating this
community, it felt like I waslike running at top speed, top,
top speed, and I needed thatslowdown.
I needed it, and when I gotthat slowdown.
When I got that slowdown, whenI got that clarity, I got the
passion again.
I got the time to actually sitjust with myself.
(11:25):
Guess what happened?
Guess what happened?
I applied to be on anotherstage and again I thought, hmm,
I'm gonna this, I'm coming to itfrom a different place this
time, and if it happens, thenthat means it was meant for me,
(11:45):
that means this door, thismoment, was for me.
If it doesn't, that means Ineed to do some more, just
listening within, listeningwithin.
(12:08):
And so I share this with y'all,because sometimes it takes
breaks.
It takes breaks to trulyunderstand your purpose, and
once you, once you do that, onceyou take the pause, sometimes
after you know maybe somethingin your life and you know a
season that says you need toslow down, or getting that
rejection, that no, once youactually take the breaks and you
(12:34):
really take time to tune in andunderstand your purpose, it
becomes easier to crush thatself doubt that's saying is this
for me?
Is this door for me?
You start showing up to doors,y'all, and you're like this is
my door, knock, knock, knock,let's go Right.
You start showing up, going updifferently, and so I want to
(13:04):
share a little bit about how itfelt being on that stage.
I've shared on my social media.
I have not yet shared on thepodcast.
So this this feels a little bitmore intimate because I'm
talking to you on the other.
So this this feels a little bitmore intimate because I'm
talking to you on the other end,whether you're wearing
headphones or listening to methrough a speaker.
I'm talking to you how it feelsto be living in a moment that
(13:32):
you once prayed for but didn'treally understand that it could
happen.
Being on this stage this pastFebruary, y'all speaking to the
women in the audience andbuilding the community, gaining
a sisterhood.
God, as I was on that stage,spoke to me and said you are
(13:59):
exactly where you need to beright now.
This, this, right here, is thebus you were supposed to get on,
this is the one.
And it was just like this quietconfirmation of like yes, this
is it, keep going.
Like, yes, this is it, keepgoing.
(14:19):
The alignment, the clarity, allof it, just like clicked into
place, clicked into place.
And so I'm talking to you Ifyou're running and you are clear
that you need to be runningright now, like I am in that
season, right now, right now,like.
(14:43):
I am in that season right now.
Now that Henry um is in daycaremost of the week, I am in that
running season right now.
But we're not running justwithout any type of direction
anymore.
We're not running looking forthe door.
I'm running for the door, Iknow is there.
And if you're in that seasonright now, love, keep running.
If you are locked in, keepgoing.
(15:06):
But if you need to pause and youfeel like you're running in,
like those movies where you knowthere's this person and they're
running in the forest and theydon't know the way out, if you
feel like that is you right nowand you need to take a pause and
a moment and take a breath, dothat, because guess what?
Your bus, the one that you'retrying to find and get on, it's
(15:30):
not going to leave without youbeing on it, because what's
meant for yours?
I really, truly believe that itis yours already.
You do not need to worry thatit's going to leave, that you're
going to miss it, because yourbus is yours.
So trust in the divine timing.
(15:52):
Crush the self-doubt withpurpose.
Run towards your door, your bus, knowing that you are running
in complete alignment with God'spurpose for you on this earth.
So trust your pace, trust theprocess.
You will catch that bus when itis your bus.
(16:14):
It's waiting for you to getcrystal clear.
So do what you need to do toget there, and I want to in
today's episode, but invitingyou guys really to share your
own bus stories with me.
Either DM me, tag me in a storyor reel anything that you wish.
(16:38):
I just I want to hear your busstories of either not catching
the bus and getting clear on wow, that wasn't meant for me.
Or knowing that you were in aseason where you are running
towards the bus and you knowthat it's your bus.
I want to hear all of thoseamazing stories.
I love you, you all Sending youalways light and love, and I
(17:01):
can't wait to see you on thenext episode.
Thank you so much for listening.
Love.
If anything in today's episoderesonated with you, share it
with your bestie, or share it onsocial media and tag me so we
can chat about it.
As always, sending you lightand love, and remember you are
worthy, you are enough and youdeserve to thrive.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com