How Much Do You Love Yourself?

A really good friend of mine from one of my hometowns (Arkansas) has called me crying off and on for the past 10 years concerning the ups and downs of her relationships. They all have a pattern. "Sylvia, he talks to me like I am a dog!", or "Sylvia, he keeps putting his hands on me", or "Sylvia, why does he keep cheating on me, I give him everything!" I have listened to her and talked her through most of her dilemmas but this recent one hit home for me.You see, this last guy seemed to take her through it from the beginning. He was up and down the road in her car, buying drugs with money from her purse, entertaining other women, jeapordizing her job.......I cold go on and on. From the moment they met, I was hearing all these terrible things and I hoped tjis girl hadnt completely lost her mind. Understand something ya'll, my friend, (We'll call her Terri) Terri is a beautiful, successful young woman. She is church going and is working toward her third degree. She has a beautiful home and immaculate taste. She would give the shirt off her back. So with all these things going for her, it was beyond me how she could continue to put up with so much ignorance. So, I finally called her and asked her what was going on. She confirmed the rumors and I was livid! I asked her, "Terri, why do you deal with this mess off this "piece of man"?" Through sobs, she answered, "Because I love him!!!!" After a short pause, my reply was," Ok, girl, but how much do you love yourself?" She hung up in my face.

After a couple of days, she called me and apoligized. She said she didnt know how to answer my question, so she hung up. She told me that it made her think and look at her life in a totally different way. She has kicked the guy out and was still looking for someone special but she promised to take it slow and to take her wants and needs into consideration.

I decided to share that with ya'll because I know and hear of so many women going through similar situations. I have even been there. But in our quest for happiness we lose sight on ourselves. I was in a physically and emotionally abusive marriage for 3 years. It wasn't until I learned to love myself that I decided I wasnt going to deal with it anymore and kicked his trifling butt to the curb!!!

The moral of the story is this: You have to love yourself right first before any one else can.

Until next time!!!!!