How to Stay Proactive During Hardship By Keresha William-James
Philippians 3:10 “That I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death.”
Hi there,
My name is Keresha Williams-James, a Registered Midwife, a Christian Life Coach who specializes in Healing/Career coaching. I am an Author, speaker, Reflexologist, a wife and a mother of 4 wonderful kids and last but not least a Child of the living God.
This is a season in which we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
The bible tells us of his death, burial and resurrection.
This of course gives me hope that He died, that I may have life and have it more abundantly. (John 10:10).
My life wasn’t always like this.
My story is one of perseverance, faith and how the grace of God has kept me.
I can relate to the struggles in your life because I have had them too…
When I first started designing my life, I was concerned because to others, I was the same old Keresha…Yet I knew I was very different.
I had an aim; a purpose for my life.
But what caught me off-guard was how my transformation actually influenced other people around me too.
Life was nothing but though for me.
I knew what it’s like to struggle with the shame of abuse, and feel hopeless that life can’t get any better. I was struggling inside with walls up, mask on. I had really low self- esteem, no confidence and I never felt good enough. I was a people pleaser, wasn’t able to make a decision without someone’s approval. I worried about everything - how I looked, what I said, what I did, how I did it…and that was exhausting! I felt I had nothing to offer, and closed myself off, particularly in social situation.
As a child I struggled with self- confidence because of the colour of my skin.
My grandfather called me “Black Anancy” and made fun of me. To me black was a crime and so I grew up with anger and resentment.
In 2005, I was raped and abused.
I was depressed and wanted to die.
Everything was an effort, days went by I would lay down staring at the ceiling and couldn’t manage much more.
At age 30, I had 4 children and was without a career after failing numerous times at Teacher’s College. Nothing seems to be working out, I was just stuck!
I failed literally at everything I tried. I broke down one night when my eldest son asked,
“Mom, will our lives always be like this?”
Something inside of me snapped.
Eventually I could bear it anymore.
At one point I couldn’t leave my home, I was dizzy, breathless and was diagnosis with chronic fatigue. I finally found out I had anxiety. I knew I had to do something because my health was suffering. Giving up not an option! I was bored with my own “Poor me story” and made the decision to take charge of my life. Overwhelm isn’t funny to deal with!
Had anyone said to me a year ago that I’d be putting myself out there as a coach; I never would have believed them, which would require confidence, stepping outside my box, and taking action!
I started to seek God and learned more about how powerful I am, and the huge amount of knowledge gained through my experiences, I’ve really dug deep and spent a lot of time rediscovering me. I realized I had the tools in my backpack and looked back into my life…my mess was my message. My scar became my stars!
In Romans 5:3-5, Paul says that we can rejoice in our sufferings because we are people of hope: “Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us”
Success occurs not through hard work, but through renewing your mind with the Word of God. Because through the Word you grow faith and receive insight from Holy Spirit to succeed at the entrepreneurial calling that God has placed in your heart.