The other day, I was at The Beverly Center with my neighbor and we were waiting on an elevator. It took a long time coming and two ladies walked up and waited with us. They became impatient and started looking for an escalator. One of the ladies was leaning on a cane so I am sure that she counted every one of her steps. We waited for a few minutes and then I said, “Have faith, it’s coming.” Then the woman without the cane said. “I don’t have any faith that this elevator is coming” as she looked around the garage for another option. One second after she finished her sentence, the elevator bell pinged and the doors slowly opened. She looked back at me and giggled. I smiled back and nodded my head up and down as if to say yes and said, “You should always have faith and when you want to let it go, hang in there a few moments more.” We all laughed as the elevator went up.
Monthly Archives: April 2015
Beyond the Smile
Wonderful things are happening in my life today; allow me to share. This morning while at the post office, I met a woman who had shaved off all of her hair. What I noticed right away was her smile and the light in her eyes; she was beautiful. I could not help, but be uplifted by her mere presence. We had a great conversation and I felt encouraged by her. She called the moles on my face “extra special” which was touching since I don’t always like them. She also said that I will be a great defender. She then told me that she was going to school to be a nurse practitioner and that she had won her battle with cancer. What?!?! Just yesterday I decided to do the run for her 5K Run and Friendship Walk. I gave her my T.A.P. into the Possibilities card because we were meant to know each other. After that, blessings just kept coming and I am paying it forward. I have raised the goal on my donations page twice because people are donating. I really feel blessed despite the challenges that I am determined to conquer.
You Don’t Even Know Who I Am?
One day, I was going to the doctor’s office. I wasn’t feeling very happy, as a matter of fact, I was feeling a little down. I was feeling like I didn’t matter to anyone, including God so I walked with my head down and said, “God, you probably don’t even know my name.” When I came out of the doctor’s office, my head was still lowered and then I saw a glimmer of light on the ground. As I approached it, I could see clearly what it was and picked it up. It was a Mother Teresa medallion. My name is also Teresa. I guess God showed me. That was several years ago and I carry it with me to this day. When I turned it over, it said, “Pray for us.” When I told my friend, Latisha what it said on the back of the medallion, she asked, Well, did you do it?” I was confused so I asked her, “Did I do what?” She calmly said, “Pray for us.” I was embarrassed to tell her that I had not said a prayer. After we hung up, I prayed for all of us.
Sitting in the Dark
There is never enough darkness to cover your light. When you are in the middle of personal battles, all you can see is how hard you are fighting to get to the peaceful part of your life, but remember that the battles are not for nothing. They show you that you can fight. They show you that you can survive and they show you that you care enough about your inner peace to do anything to get it.
Beyond the Shadow of Doubt
Beyond the Shadow of Doubt
It does not matter, White or Black
I don’t believe in tit for tat
But Black men killed against their will
Has sent blind justice straight downhill
Where is the peace?
Where is the trust?
Where are the rights for all of us?
You stay inside your world and place
You hands over your doubting face
Discussion is a vital part
But that alone won’t heal a heart
We have to care!
We have to act!
And that, my friend
Is simple fact
Written by Teresa A. Pitts
The Weight of Blackness
If being Black was not a weight,
But light as air, like wings
Imagine how far we could fly
Without the binding strings.
If we were told how beautifully
Our shades of skin reflect,
Perhaps the brilliance of our dreams
Would rise above neglect.
Written by Teresa A. Pitts
The Art of Recovery
The Art of Recovery
The valley I existed in
Seems miles away right now
I fell in and could not get out
I still can’t tell you how
At one point, I was flying high
Accomplishments galore
And then the next thing that I knew
I could no longer soar
The strength I had was washed away
And all I did was sleep
But sleeping could not help my pain
The wounds were just too deep
For months, I felt like I was lost
I asked, “Why can’t I breathe?”
But truth was far too hard to bear
Much easier to deceive
So I just stayed real still and cried
Convinced I could not climb
the smallest obstacles in life
No matter how I tried
But here I am back on the track
Believing that I will
Be all the things that I can be
My destiny fulfilled
~Teresa A. Pitts (3:53 p.m.)
A Caged Bird Sings Melancholy Songs (Freedom Rings)
A Caged Bird Sings Melancholy Songs (Freedom Rings)
Resigned to a space
That divides the world
Into pieces
A caged bird sings
Melancholy songs
With her wings folded behind her
Where glory is reduced to incarceration
And hope does not recognize itself
Cloaked in a world where freedom rings
But not loud enough
To be clearly heard
Written by Trevel Pitts and Teresa A. Pitts
Life Captured
Life Captured
Trying to capture life
Like lightness of a feather
Looking up to find the sun
In any kind of weather
Feeling dreams as light as air
That drift by without traction
Knowing that it’s better to
Maintain a kind reaction
Free to stay inside a cage
Or free to live without it
Free to understand our worth
And never ever doubt it
Written by Carmen Portilla and Teresa A. Pitts
Going My Way
I had decided to go to the 6:00 a.m. service at Faithful Central Bible Church today, but when I woke up at 5:00 a.m., it was raining, cold and dark and I was still tired so I set my alarm clock for a later time so I could go to the 10:00 a.m. service. On my way to the church, I saw a guy running down La Brea Avenue with his hand in the air as if he was trying to hail a taxi. It was not a taxi, but the bus which moved away from him to the middle lane and kept on moving down the street. I felt that I should give him a ride and I was not worried about being late for church because of it. I turned around and pulled up on his side of the street. I asked him if he was trying to catch the bus and he said, “Yes.” I asked him if I could take him to his destination. He saw the Uber sticker in my window and said, “Are you Uber?” I told him that I was not working and could give him a ride without charging him. He smiled and got into my car. He asked me where I was going and I told him, “I am going to Faithful Central.” I then asked him where he was going and he replied, “The same place.” We both laughed and rode on down the street, talking and laughing. When we arrived, he pulled out $10 and before he could hand it to me, I said, “I can’t take that, just do something nice for someone else, that is how I do it.” He asked, “Is that what you want me to do?” and I said, “Yes, that is how I do it.” He said, “OK and I want you to take this money. That’s how I do it.” I chuckled and accepted his money. We were walking through the parking lot to the church when he stopped and said, “Oh no, I think I left my phone in your car and then he apologized profusely while we were walking back to the car. I kept telling him not to worry because I needed the exercise. We both laughed. He got his phone and we walked back and entered the church with the choir and congregation singing. As I went to my seat, I was grateful that I was in the right place at the right time. May that continue to happen. As for the $10, I am going to get ten single dollar bills and keep them in the door pocket so that when I drive pass people on the street who are asking for money, I don’t have to fumble around in my bag and miss the opportunity to give them their dollar.
T.A.P. into the Possibilities 