Let’s Do Something

We have no idea what other people go through. Just by looking at them, it’s impossible to know what they’ve experienced or endured. We often judge others based on their actions, instead of looking deeper and glimpsing into their soul. The troubled child needs love. He or she needs to know that someone cares. So often we walk right by someone without smiling or offering them our kindness. But what would our kindness mean to them? 

Have you ever had someone change the course of your day by showing you kindness? A beautiful thing happens when someone extends their kindness to us. It goes beyond our barriers and speaks to our soul. 

Today, I challenge you to be kind. Our children are watching us. Send a message to someone who is struggling. Open a door for a stranger. Smile at everyone. We are all fighting a battle, others know nothing about. When I focus on how I can help other people, suddenly my own problems don’t seem as big. 

Make it your mission to change your world. When we truly set out to make a difference for others, a beautiful thing happens to us. The first world that we change is ours. We can’t be kind and smile all day long without it affecting us in a positive way. As we start our day, let’s ask God what He would have us to do. And then do it with all of our hearts. So often the change is not in the big things that we do, but it is in the small things we do consistently. 

Love and blessings, 

Candida 

The Survivor: How I found acceptance through Zippy

I will never forget the horrid feeling of being bullied. Words, sharp as knives, swiped at me over and over until it felt as if I would crumble. I remember trying to escape the pain and running to my safe haven. Looked inside a bathroom stall at school, restrained tears fell and begged God for help.

Scarred and ashamed, I believed the nasty words. When the bully yelled that I was ugly, it just confirmed what my heart already thought. And when they made fun of my scars, I had tried to pray away, my heart broken into a million pieces. Their words were so devastating and heartbreaking because I had already thought the same things daily. Even though the pain was unbearable, I kept it locked inside me. I didn’t want to share my feelings or heartache with anyone.

The day I looked into a coffin of a child, who had taken her own life, my feelings changed and my heart decided to do something to help. Years prior that could have been me. There was a time when I begged God to remove me from my pain—when I no longer wanted to live.

In my efforts to help others, I penned a children’s book about a little zebra without stripes.

But I couldn’t get it right. One million drafts later, God opened my eyes and allowed me to see things differently. When I finally wrote the ending, a lifetime of burdens and heartaches were destroyed. My scars and condition no longer hurt me. Acceptance is powerful. It transforms our heartaches into blessings.

My scars were no longer a burden, but beautiful blessings. God did not curse me with scars. He blessed me with life. The only thing about my life that changed was how I viewed it. We can cry over all of the things we don’t have, or we can learn to be thankful for our unique blessings. Sometimes we put too much thought into what we want for our lives ,and fail to see that God has a greater purpose for us. All I wanted was unscarred hands, arm, and foot, but God gave me so much more.

Every day I’m thankful to be alive and for the opportunity to raise my children. I’m so thankful to go into schools and promote kindness and encourage everyone to celebrate their differences and life. My scars have transformed me into a stronger person. I’m more compassionate and willing to help others along their journey.

I have learned that words and actions can only hurt us if we allow them to. Stares and whispers no longer have any control over me. All a stranger might see is my scars, but it is up to me to show them my heart. If they are staring at me that just means I have their undivided attention, and should use that moment to reflect God.

I know that every single day comes with challenges and obstacles, but I’m so grateful for each one. If given the choice, I would keep my scars. And I pray every day God will bless me to help someone in some way.

 “Zippy and the Stripes of Courage” is free on Amazon June 22, 23, and 24 only. I sincerely hope that you will download your free copy and share the information with others. You never know who might be struggling with their own issues and would benefit from reading Zippy’s story. 

http://www.amazon.com/Zippy-Stripes-Courage-ebook/dp/B0079LCLDM/ref=sr_1_4_title_1_kin?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1371903964&sr=1-4&keywords=Candida+Sullivan

It can be downloaded on the kindle, kindle app for iPhone and iPad, or your computer using the free kindle app.

While I’m no poet, this poem slipped out.

The Survivor

Past….

Scarred and ashamed
Filled with pain
Afraid to live
Bound by fears

 

Present….

God and acceptance
Squelched the bonds
Purpose and thankfulness
Transformed the inside

 

Future…

Now a window to God
Inspiring and helping others
A testimony of power
Reflecting God’s ultimate plan

 

Making a Difference

What if we all pledged in our hearts right now to make a difference in some way, in someone’s life? Do you realize that we could change the world? Kindness often has a boomerang effect. One smile could multiply into hundreds, then thousands, and before you know it everyone would be smiling and ultimately happier.

Sounds absolutely wonderful doesn’t it? Then why don’t we strive to make it happen?

We often complain about the government or the horrific things happening around us, but what we fail to see is that it doesn’t really matter what is happening around us, we can still elect to be happy. Happiness shouldn’t be based on a certain criteria, if that were the case it would be impossible to be achieved. It should be strived for daily. In my life, I have learned happiness is not the absence of sadness or depression— it is the overcoming of it.

There will ALWAYS be obstacles we have to overcome. There is always going to be someone who will do something to upset us. There will always be tough situations and things which happen beyond our control. I have learned we cannot control what happens around us, but we can control how we react to it.

We didn’t get to choose our hair or eye color. We didn’t get to choose our parents or siblings. Where we would grow up or the morals and values taught to us. However, we can choose the type of person we want to be right now. There has to come a point in our lives, where we take responsibility for our own actions and choices. You can only blame your parents or bad things that happened to you for so long. Those things might have contributed to bad choices or made you feel bad, but you have the power to stop it right now, before it destroys the rest of your life.

The key is to look for the bright side of it all. There is a reason these things happen and it all happens for our benefit. For example, I pulled out a few of my rejection letters. When they arrived in the mail previously, they nearly devastated me. I would cry and be sad for days. Looking at them now has a different effect. I want to hug each and every person who rejected me. They helped me along my journey to publication and helped me to my wonderful publisher and illustrator for Zippy.  

I believe we are all right where we want to be in our lives. I believe we are all the type of person we want to be. We all have the type of relationship we want with God, our family and friends, and ourselves. Most often times you get out of things whatever you put into it.  

I have found it is so easy to look at other people and judge their lives. Yet, how do we know that we would handle their situation differently? Without the knowledge of their feelings, we cannot assume we would do it differently. We might do worse.

Lately is seems everyone wants to put down those on drugs and alcohol. People often want to take the high and mighty stance and look down on others. Instead of trying to knock those suffering down, we need to lift them up to the Lord in prayer. We need to find a quiet place out of the world and pray for those who have lost their lives or the enjoyment of it anyway, to these things. I know without a shadow of a doubt that if I were in their shoes, I would want the church praying for me.

What if God only treated us the way we treat Him and others? I don’t know about you, but I’d be in trouble. However, my Lord is so wonderful! He knows all about me—my shortcomings and failures, and He loves me anyway.

We all have the power to make a difference. We can lift people up or bring them down. We can be a light to others or a stumbling block. We can be the type of person everyone enjoys being around or the type that everyone avoids. We can be kind or hateful. We can celebrate our blessings or allow the devil to take them away. We can open our eyes each morning, dreading another day or wake up so thankful God blessed us with another day to spend with our loved ones.

I’m training myself to only look at the bright side of any situation. I examine my thoughts now and embrace the positive ones and discard the negative ones. I realize I am a work in progress and I’m learning to speak more kindly to myself.  Perhaps I can’t change the whole wide world, but I change the little world I live in. Kindness is a universal language everyone understands.

I believe I can make a difference! What about you?