"I Am Carried In Arms That Planned Adventure..."

Read this quote in a book one day and I put it on my letter board at work…

… a month before I was let go. 

& I am not talking about the “let go” that you see coming, the ones where the writing is CLEARLY on the wall. 

Where budget cuts are happening. 

You are on multiple discipline plans. 

You squared up with your boss. 😂 

Those kind of let go’s are obvious. (I would also like to note that I have never been fired or let go until then). Those let go’s are inevitable and even to be expected for both parties.

But, this was abrupt and unexpected. 

It was “We’re making budget cuts and you can leave today. We’ll pay you for the rest of the month.”

Oh. 

No heads up.

No conversation. 

No warning. 

So I packed up the things I cared about (letterboard included), had some friends help me move later that evening and embarked on what looked like the next season of uncertainty. 

Remember, this wasn’t planned. I wasn’t expecting this, so I had no time to prepare for this.  And though financially I was okay, the uncertainty of what the season was going to look like, left me questioning my identity, my purpose and my calling. 

And I am sure a lot of people feel the same currently in this season of Covid-19. 

No heads up. 

No conversation. 

No warning. 

This wasn’t planned and because we weren’t expecting this, there was no time to prepare. 

I mean how does one plan for a global pandemic anyways?

But what I love about this letter board and why I have it by my door as I walk out to face the world, is that it serves as a reminder and a promise. 

“I am CARRIED in arms that planned adventure for my life.” - Alice Walker

Let that sit with you for a second. Let it marinate. 

I looked up the definition of carry: to support and take from one place to another. (Merriam Webster)

I am supported from this season and into the next. Because had I not gone through that, I wouldn’t know what it means to rely on a strength that is not my own. I wouldn’t know how to walk through times that seem dark and unexpected. 

“I am CARRIED in arms that planned adventure for my life.”
And you sis, are too. ❤️

Steal this if you need to. Save it as a screensaver. Put it on a sticky note. Set it as an alarm. 

Because YOU sis, are carried in arms that planned adventure for YOUR life. In certain AND uncertain times, and I want you to never forget it.