ILEDEJA

Are you ever tired?

And not just tired as in “I need a good night’s sleep” tired. I mean life tired. The kind of tired that makes people question whether they can keep going.

It’s kind of a funny question, isn’t it? Almost rhetorical. Because if we’re being honest, life gets heavy for everyone at some point.

But me?

Nope.

I’m not life tired. 😂

You’re probably wondering where I’m going with this, so hear me out.

Recently, while in Puerto Rico, I took a photo of a banyan tree. Later, I looked up its spiritual meaning and immediately understood why I was so drawn to it. Banyan trees symbolize resilience, endurance, wisdom, and strength. What fascinated me most is how they continue to grow by sending roots down from their branches, creating new foundations that support the tree as it expands.

The more I thought about it, the more I realized that my life has looked a lot like that tree.

At 23 years old, I stepped out into the world with my daughter and moved from Texas to New York. We stayed in a shelter for three weeks. After that, I rented a finished basement from a family friend and spent over a year there while working two full-time jobs, one at a psychiatric hospital and the other at Lowe’s.

Those jobs became my roots.

They gave me stability.

I bought the car I still drive today. I got my daughter and me our first apartment. A two-bedroom apartment that I proudly furnished from Raymour & Flanigan.

I did it.

Of course, life didn’t suddenly become easy after that.

There were years when I struggled. I worked jobs that paid $36,000 a year. I got sick with appendicitis. There were moments when bills piled up. Times when my car insurance lapsed and I had to deal with penalties. Weeks when groceries were tight. Seasons when I lost jobs.

I couldn’t always buy things for myself.

But my daughter had what she needed, and somehow that made everything else feel manageable.

The interesting thing is that when I look back now, none of those moments feel catastrophic. They felt difficult while I was living through them, but they never felt permanent.

More importantly, they never broke me.

Compared to what God could have placed on my shoulders, those struggles were minor. And honestly, when I think about it now, most of my hardships never lasted longer than about three weeks. 😂

I’m laughing because it’s true.

Do you know why they never lasted long?

Because something inside me always knew what to do.

I knew how to adjust. I knew how to problem-solve. I knew how to trust God. I knew how to remain grounded in the things that mattered most.

I had a roof over my head.

I had transportation.

I had my daughter.

I had faith.

Those were my roots.

My personal motto has always been simple: as long as I have a home, it’s clean, and I have my car, everything else will work itself out.

And somehow, it always does.

That perspective has carried me through every season of my life.

So no, I’ve never been someone who genuinely believed life was too hard to continue. I’ve never believed that things wouldn’t get better. I’ve always had a vision beyond my circumstances and faith beyond what I could see.

And every single time, life improved.

It continues to improve.

One thing I struggle to understand, though, is people who choose to live in constant negativity. People who complain about everything. People who always find something wrong, something unfair, something unbearable.

Because life happens to everyone.

Challenges are guaranteed.

But when your foundation is strong, life’s storms don’t automatically become your downfall.

A strong foundation changes everything.

Some days I was stressed. Really stressed.

But even then, I’d clean up the house. Cook dinner. Sit down and watch a movie. Play a game with my daughter. Put her to bed.

Then I’d go to sleep.

There was peace in those ordinary moments.

There was safety.

There was stability.

And more often than not, those simple things reminded me that everything was actually okay.

I have always thanked God. Not just with my words, but with the fiber of my being.

I am genuinely grateful for every opportunity, every lesson, every closed door, and every open one.

God gave me life.

And life is exactly what I intend to live.

Because seasons don’t last.

Think about it.

People complain about the heat all summer long, yet summer is only a small portion of the year.

People complain about winter, but winter eventually leaves too.

People complain about Christmas decorations showing up too early, yet Christmas itself is one day out of 365.

Everything passes.

The good.

The bad.

The easy.

The difficult.

Every season has an expiration date.

So why allow a temporary season to determine how you feel about your entire life?

That’s a perspective worth revisiting.

The banyan tree reminded me of something I already knew.

Strength isn’t about avoiding hard seasons.

It’s about being deeply rooted when they arrive.

And because my roots are grounded in faith, gratitude, stability, and purpose, I’ve never been life tired.

Never.