My Story Is Honestly One Of Those Stories Where I Have To Step Back And Say, “Okay… God, You Were Really Connecting Dots Before I Even Knew What The Dots Meant.” 😂🥹
It Started With A Name: Hannah.
At One Point In My Life, I Had An OBGYN In Raleigh, North Carolina Named Hannah Morgan, And She Was Connected To My IUD Journey. At The Time, Hannah Was Just A Doctor’s Name To Me. I Didn’t Know That Years Later, I Would Learn About Hannah In The Bible And Start Looking At That Name Completely Differently.
Then There Was Mr. Hanna.
I Met Mr. Hanna While Working At NCCU, And I Was Around 30 Years Old, Riding Around In His 30 Van While We Were Working Together. 😂 He Taught Me To Be Present, To Write Things Down, To Pay Attention, And To Talk To God Because God Knows Me And Knows My Heart.
Then I Eventually Went To Biblical School. 🏫📖
And That’s Where I Started Learning More And More About The Bible.
Eventually, I Learned About Hannah.
Biblical Hannah Was A Woman Who Prayed Deeply For What Was In Her Heart. She Was Misunderstood While She Prayed, But She Kept Pouring Her Heart Out Before God. Her Story Became Connected To Prayer, Waiting, Faith, And The Birth Of Samuel.
And I’m Looking Back At My Own Life Like…
“WAIT… Y’ALL Mean To Tell Me I Had A Hannah OBGYN, Then Mr. Hanna, Then I Went To Biblical School, And Only Later Did I Really Understand Hannah In The Bible?” 😭😂
Then There’s Will Means.
Even His Name Feels Like A Little Piece Of The Story.
Will Makes Me Think About Willingness, Choice, Intention, And The Future.
William Is Traditionally Associated With The Idea Of A Resolute Protector.
And Then His Last Name Is Means.
So In My Symbolic Brain, I’m Looking At William Means Like:
“What Does Will Mean?” 😂😭
And Then There’s The Fact That Will Is An Aries ♈️🔥, While I’m A Pisces ♓️🌊.
Fire And Water.
The Ram And The Fish.
And Somehow I’m Sitting Here Thinking, “Lord, You Really Gave Me A Man With Fire In His Zodiac And Put Him With A Woman Who Is Literally Water.” 😂
But Beyond Astrology, There’s The Way Will Makes Me Feel.
There’s Something About Him That Makes Me Think About Fire, Protection, Adventure, Love, And The Possibility Of A Future I Can’t Completely Explain.
Then The Bible Started Giving Me Another Picture:
Milk And Honey. 🥛🍯
The Bible Describes The Promised Land As A Land Flowing With Milk And Honey.
And That Phrase Started Standing Out To Me Because Milk And Honey Are Both Symbols That Make Me Think About Provision, Abundance, Nourishment, Sweetness, And A Land That Is Worth Going Toward.
So Now I’m Sitting Here Connecting Milk And Honey → Land → Field → Ruth → Boaz → Promise → Provision.
And I’m Like…
“WHY AM I OVER HERE CONNECTING WILL TO A FIELD AND SOME LAND?” 😂🌾
Because Then There’s Ruth.
Ruth Went Into A Field To Glean, And That Field Belonged To Boaz. Her Story Eventually Became Connected To Provision, Belonging, Family, Redemption, And Land.
So In My Mind, The Field Became More Than Just A Field.
It Became A Picture.
A Place Where Something Was Already Growing Before Ruth Even Arrived.
And That’s What Makes Me Think About My Own Life.
Maybe Sometimes We Don’t Know What We’re Walking Into.
Maybe We’re Just Walking Into A Field.
Maybe We Think We’re Just Picking Up The Pieces.
Maybe We Think We’re Just Trying To Figure Out Our Life.
And Then We Look Back And Realize There Were Things Growing There The Whole Time.
And Then Comes My Favorite Part:
THE DONKEY. 🫏😂
Because In Numbers 22, Balaam’s Donkey Saw Something Balaam Couldn’t See.
The Donkey Wasn’t The Fool In The Story.
The Donkey Was The One Paying Attention.
And After Everything I’ve Learned About Therapy And The Idea Of Wise Mind, The Donkey Became Funny To Me Because I Started Seeing Her As A Reminder:
Sometimes The Part Of You That Looks Silly Is The Part Telling You To Stop, Look, And Pay Attention.
Then Shrek Came Along. 😂💚
Because Now I Have A Talking Donkey In The Bible…
A Talking Donkey In Shrek…
And Winnie The Pooh Sitting Somewhere Being Quiet And Wise.
And Eventually I Started Connecting Those Characters To My Own Life.
Mr. Hanna Became My Winnie The Pooh. 🧸🍯
The Teacher.
The One Connected To Being Present.
The One Who Told Me To Write Things Down.
The One Who Encouraged Me To Talk To God.
And Will Became My Shrek. 😂💚
Not Because He’s An Ogre, Obviously. 😂
But Because Shrek Taught Me That Something Doesn’t Have To Look Like The Fairytale You Imagined For It To Still Become A Beautiful Story.
And That’s What Makes Me Laugh About My Own Story.
Because Somehow I Went From Hannah Morgan And An IUD… To Mr. Hanna… To NCCU… To Biblical School… To Hannah In The Bible… To A Talking Donkey… To Wise Mind… To Winnie The Pooh… To Shrek… To Will Means… To Aries And Pisces… To Ruth In A Field… To Milk And Honey… To Land…
And I’m Just Sitting Here Like:
“GOD… WHAT KIND OF BIBLICAL FAIRYTALE SCRIPT DID YOU HAVE ME LIVING IN WITHOUT TELLING ME THE PLOT?” 😭😂
Maybe That’s The Beautiful Part.
I Didn’t Know The Meaning Of Everything While I Was Living It.
I Was Just Living.
Learning.
Loving.
Grieving.
Growing.
Writing Things Down.
Talking To God.
And Looking Back Later And Seeing Connections I Never Would Have Thought To Make Before.
Maybe My Story Isn’t About Knowing The Ending.
Maybe It’s About Trusting God Enough To Keep Walking Through The Story.
One Step At A Time.
One Field At A Time.
One Lesson At A Time.
And If There Really Is A Land Flowing With Milk And Honey Somewhere In The Story…
Baby, I’m Just Hoping There’s A Little House On That Land, A Whole Lot Of Peace, A Field Full Of Blessings, My Bestie Donkey 🫏 Somewhere Nearby, Winnie The Pooh Sitting Under A Tree, Shrek Protecting The Swamp, And Will Somewhere Saying:
“Baby, You Coming?” 😂🥹💚
And I’m Like:
“YES. I’m Just Trying To Figure Out Why God Put ALL These Numbers, Names, People, Bible Stories, Donkeys, Fields, Milk, Honey, Fire, Water, And Fairytales In ONE SCRIPT.” 😂😭
Maybe I’ll Never Know Exactly What Every Number Means.
Maybe Every Coincidence Isn’t A Message.
But I Know What The Story Has Taught Me:
Pay Attention.
Write It Down.
Talk To God.
Stay Present.
Keep Walking.
And When Life Looks Like A Whole Lot Of Random Pieces…
Sometimes You Don’t See The Picture Until You Step Back. 🥹🤍
~
Photo credit: Images provided by the storyteller.
