🎶Somebody Prayed For Me…

Had me on their mind, took the time and prayed for meeeee

I’m so glad they prayed 👏🏾, I’m so glad they prayed👏🏾

I’m so glad they prayed for me!!!🎶

The picture above is from last night’s YMCA Black Achiever’s Gala where Michai was one of fourteen scholarship recipients. WSSU’s Women’s Basketball Head Coach, L’Tona Lamonte, was the keynote speaker. Her message was about TIME! It was an incredible “God Wink” because I talked to Michai about time and organization on the ride to the event.

Last night’s Gala was the 25th Anniversary and Coach Lamonte had audience members think back 25 years ago about what we planned for our lives. Such an important message for high school students because they, as we did at their age, think they have a lot of time to accomplish their goals.

Today was Awards Day at Mount Tabor. I didn’t think I would get emotional because there is still some work to do to obtain scholarship funding for this $20,507 tuition bill, but the students…the students of the 2022 Senior Class have been through so much, yet they’ve accomplished so much MORE!!! I held it together until I listened to the words from the music for the slideshow that some STUDENTS created. This generation is slandered at times, but I remain in awe of their creativity. I remain in awe of their resilience, their humor, and their love for people. Their number of community service hours, the amount of scholarship money they received, the pride for our beloved Mount Tabor High, the number of alumni and staff who return to give back, and the number of students committed to attending HBCUs all give me hope that this city will be alright.

I don’t talk about Michai’s accomplishments much because in his words, “that’s not the move”, but I need to share since his success is because of our Village/Kijiji. It is because of prayers, well beyond the ones I question at times whether they’re being heard, that we are days away from a high school graduation I wasn’t sure would happen this time last year. Prayers for a sober father for Michai who gets to coherently enjoy these events. Prayers for a medicated father for me who I can have a conversation with that doesn’t include yelling. Prayers for a student who’s written countless essays, completed several scholarship applications, has been denied way more than he has been awarded, but that hasn’t stopped him from doing the work. Prayers for me…on the days I don’t feel like “mommying”, the days when I’m tired of repeating myself, the days when I want to throw the ‘draws’ and undershirts away because I shouldn’t have to tell an almost 18-year-old to pick them up off the bathroom floor, the nights I’m up editing scholarship essays, the nights I’m waking Michai up to send the application before the 11:59p deadline, the time when Michai watched me abruptly take him out of a white pediatrician’s office (because he said Michai was obese and wanted to refer him to his nutritionist “friend”) and listened to me tell the story to his Black pediatrician who had absolutely understood the assignment and was the start of me advocating for him.

It is because of those prayers, and the prayers of the family members who we miss so dearly…my paternal grandmother who fought to live to meet her only two great-grandchildren, my maternal grandparents who watched Michai when I had to work until 9 at night, my aunt who always had my back and then took Michai as her own, the uncle who donated to the fundraiser a few weeks before he passed so Michai could get his championship ring, my home health clients who projected Michai would be an athlete when he was 3, and the most recent one who still mailed birthday checks despite her memory slipping…those prayers have kept us covered!

Ain’t God alright? I said…AIN’T GOD ALRIGHT?!?

Thank y’all for your prayers. Please continue praying for us (as long as you know how to get your prayers through) as we strive to pay our Blessings forward. I encourage you to pay YOUR Blessings forward, finish what you start, use your time wisely, and WATCH GOD CHANGE THINGS!!!

Ohhh Gloray (in my Aunt Esther voice) 🙌🏾💃🏾🙌🏾💃🏾🙌🏾💃🏾