This week I have a guest blogger . . . my oldest daughter, Danielle Stradford. She is going to share with you on the topic "From Personal Decision to Total Transformation.” I hope you enjoy reading it.
Sometimes in life when we make decisions we have no clue the
impact that one decision can have on our lives. Who would have thought that
deciding to chuck the deuces to sex before marriage, drinking and life outside
of God almost four years ago would have taken me on the journey that I am still
actively pursuing today. If you would have told me that my views on marriage,
God, my confidence, self-worth and determination to walk out my standards
without compromise would have been elevated due to one decision I made in
November of 2011, I would have said not me, yea right, NO WAY! I’m not gonna lie, while this decision has
brought, and is still bringing so many blessings and opportunities to my life,
it was also one of the hardest and scariest decisions that I have even made. I
was making the decision to walk away from what I thought was love, stability,
and comfort in relationships knowing this decision would most likely cause me
to have to walk alone for a while. Ultimately, I was making the decision to have
to look in the mirror, face myself and begin to deal with the issues that had
plagued me for so long such as low self-esteem, fear of loneliness and not
fitting in with the crowd. This journey has been nothing short of exciting,
transforming, painful and pivotal all at the same time.
As a woman and individual here are two key things I have learned along this journey as a result of my decision.
1.
Learn
to define and identify love in the right way. Enduring this journey of making the choice to
walk the path of purity as a non-virgin has caused me to re-evaluate how I
think about, and what I expect during dating and marriage. Instead of looking
for my boyfriend or outward things to make me feel good I began to realize that
my love, confidence and security had to first be whole within myself. I am a Christian
and I understand that my relationship with God is the foundation and source of
my confidence and self-esteem. Through being intentional about shutting out the
negative noise of bad relationships that ultimately brought about bad habits, I
was able to begin to both understand and accept the unconditional love of God.
In all relationships, especially in our marriage relationships I believe that
we need to view love through the lens of unconditional love. That is the only
way our relationships with be successful and work. But, we first have to love
and appreciate ourselves before we can accept and appreciate love from others.
2.
Don’t
be fooled, Purity is attractive! This fact is probably the most intriguing to me. Growing up with
parents as ministers I always remember hearing about maintaining a pure
lifestyle and not having sex before marriage, but I felt like it wasn’t the
cool thing to do. And, let’s face it, I wanted to be cool. Once I made the
decision at 17 to start having sex and drinking to fit in once I got to
college, I realized this was not the lifestyle for me. As a matter of fact, all
it seemed to bring was drama and a bunch of trouble and disappointment that I
didn’t need. Since making the decision to live a pure lifestyle at 24 I have
not only noticed that I look and feel better personally, but my quality of life
and relationships is so much better. The biggest thing I noticed is that when I
began to value myself, that better quality guys were being attracted to me. I
was fooled! What I thought would drive them away was actually attracting more
people to me. That blew my mind! This allowed me to know that purity is
attractive. While many of the people who are attracted to you may still come
for the wrong reasons, you are now in a position where you can protect your
most valuable assets; your heart and purity, while remaining confident and not
compromising on your standards until the loving and amazing mate that God has
for you comes along.
This journey has been
one heck of a ride to say the least, and I wouldn’t trade it for the world.
Now, at 28 years old I love representing purity! But, not just purity,
attractive, fun and this is the life you deserve and want to have form of
purity. I am not sure where you are in your journey, or what you have faced?
But, know there is more for you out there than sleeping around, dealing with
damaging relationships, having your heart broken and partying. God loves you
and desires more for your life. As a matter of fact he created you with a
unique and powerful purpose and destiny! My one piece of advice for any person,
at any stage of life is to make wise decisions. Like me, one decision can
totally transform your life.
What areas would you like to see transformed for the better in
your life? Would love to hear from you!
xoxo
-Dani
Would love to hear your thoughts, questions, or feedback.
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