Wherever she goes, she leaves a little sparkle – featuring sydney’s closet

When I was 16 I went to South Africa on a missions trip. I was there for a month teaching at 2-3 schools a week and in preparation, I went through a few days of training and I remember one of the speakers sharing a quote that I have never, ever forgotten…

“All the darkness in the world cannot put out the light of a single candle”. 

This statement resonated so deeply in my heart that day and it still does.  As I sit here and write I actually realize how significant that statement has been for me over the years, almost like it has given me even more hope through all the tough stuff. If you’ve followed my story, you’ll know that like so many others, I’ve had many things happen that have not been happy and have essentially been ‘darkness’ that has tried to put out my light.  But, the light never went out.  Even if there was only a little flicker of light left in me, there was still light. 

My light almost went out, actually around this time of year in 2012.  I did not almost die physically but I was hanging on for dear life – emotionally, mentally and my heart and soul was grieving for the pain that they were in.  But then that little flicker of light all of a sudden got just a little brighter and it is because of that light that I was able to have the toughest conversation of my life at that time.  I knew I could no longer live in the pain I was living in, I had to write out why things hurt so bad, what was wrong and I read them out to my now ex-husband. You see, I was not used to standing up for myself.  I had lost my voice.  My voice didn’t matter to the person I loved most in this world, my husband.  He hated my excitement for life and would constantly make fun of how I would get excited over even little things.  My opinion didn’t matter, things were to be done as he wanted and if I thought differently, something was wrong with me.  He tried to not just dim my light but to suck it right outta me!

But, with everything I could muster up on the inside, I read out this list when he got home from work one night and said, either we can fix this, or you are going to have to leave because I can’t live like this anymore.  And so, he left.  That was the first day I took my life and my voice back, it’s also the day my sparkle, that light, started to return and get brighter.  There was a lot that happened in the year and a half before he finally filed for divorce, I found out a lot more lies he had been feeding me and he wasn’t the person I had hoped he was.  But,  through the process of restoration, I made me a priority.  I made sure that my voice was heard.  I made sure that I protected myself from him hurting me anymore, and I worked towards a whole heart and seeing that light become even brighter, regardless of his words or actions.

You see, there comes a point in your life that you need to make the decision to do life for you, regardless of someone else’s actions or words.  I could have chosen to let my ex-husbands lies that he spoke over me continue to be my truth but I realized they were just that….lies.  It’s time to dig down deep!  What do you want to do with your life, what are your values, what do you want to accomplish in life, what are your dreams, how’s your heart doing, are you whole? 

Life is meant for the living, you were meant for greatness, you were meant to sparkle brightly and to leave a little sparkle behind (for someone else possibly).

You’ll find that as you grow and start sparkling, or if you are already starting to shine brighter, you may get some push back from people in your life.  Maybe they think you are shining too brightly – well that just isn’t true.  Shine bright like the diamond you are.  I have had lots of people in my circle unhappy with the stuff I post, the photos, the blogs, how much I share and so on, and they see that I’ve changed.  And yup, I’ve changed, I’ll own that –  Thank God, because I was really broken before.  I have made it a mission to stay grounded, have surrounded myself with an amazing support system who I am accountable to and who really loves me. 

So to the naysayers who try and dim our light and tell us not to sparkle – we say no, very graciously.  We have a bright light that is meant to shine bright like a diamond!  So, if the light is shining too bright in the nay-sayer’s eyes….well, too bad, keep on shining!

Now, it’s no lie that I love bling and sparkles which is why when I saw this dress from Sydney’s Closet I knew it actually belonged in my closet, or rather, hanging on every one of my curves that now shine because they aren’t hidden.  This cute black dress hugs my curves just right and really the bling has adorned my curves quite beautifully I’d say.  I paired this dress with a pair of strappy sandals by Steve Madden but I also might wear it with some tall black boots as winter arrives.  When I wore this dress I received so many compliments about how amazing it was – and it really is.  Sydney’s Closet does it again!  This dress has quickly been added to my list of favs!

Be careful – wearing this dress may shine bright in someones eyes – but it’s all good – keep on shining baby!

Stay Beautiful,