Guest Blog By Sonya Scantlebury
Today, healing looks very different to me than it did many years ago. It’s something I desperately needed when the tinges of physical pain persisted and intensified, as the loss of a dear friend from school stirred up the emotional turmoil within. Their sudden death shook me to the core, leaving me grappling with the fragility of life and the uncertainty of what lay beyond. Fear crept in the face of such loss, casting a shadow over my once bright aspirations and dreams.
I found myself consumed by thoughts of mortality, haunted by the fear of dying before I had the chance to live genuinely. The prospect of standing before God and facing the final verdict on my life filled me with a deep sense of dread. It was a fear that danced in tango with the grief I was trying to process, intertwining and amplifying each other in a relentless cycle.
In this turmoil, I sought solace in familiarity and comfort, retreating into a cocoon of safety to shield myself from the uncertainty and pain of the outside world. But as time passed, I realized that this cocoon was not a place of growth or healing. Instead, it was a stagnant refuge that trapped me in a cycle of fear and avoidance.
Life, however, has a way of teaching you the most valuable lessons you will ever learn. It offers us tests and challenges that, though daunting at first glance, serve to qualify and advance us on our journey of becoming. Yet, in our struggles, it can be difficult to see these challenges as anything other than life-endangering, soul-wrenching experiences that we need to escape.
Reflecting on some of the most challenging seasons of my life, I can see how, intentionally and strategically, the same God—whom I was so terrified of—was sovereignly watching over my life to ensure that what seemed like random chaos and senseless suffering was aligning me with my divine calling.
As I sit here preparing to speak about my debut book, “F.I.G.H.T: A Journey To Becoming New,” I am filled with a sense of awe and gratitude. I never could have imagined that the path to realizing my childhood dream of becoming a teacher would be filled with such difficult seasons and traumatizing situations. Yet, through these trials, I have been molded and shaped into the person I am today.
My journey of healing and becoming is far from over, but I am so grateful that it has begun, and my perspective is shifting on my life experiences to see the purpose in them all. There will undoubtedly be more challenges and obstacles to overcome. Still, armed with the knowledge that every trial is an opportunity for growth and transformation, I face the future with self-awareness, courage, faith, and resilience.
In sharing my story, I hope to inspire others to embrace their journeys of healing and becoming and not succumb to the trauma of the hardship they face. May we all find the strength to navigate life’s ups and downs with grace and fortitude. Through it all, we are being shaped into the best versions of ourselves, being confident in who we are and free to live abundant and fulfilled lives.
Join Sonya and the Beacon of Light Podcast on Tuesday, Feb 27th, at 6:30 pm Mountain Time for this powerful discussion!
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