“Forward ever, backward never.”

This is a quote from Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park in Accra, Ghana. I don’t know if it was him who originally said it, but I love it all the same.

I attended Afrochella festival and met a few friendly strangers who offered encouragement and agape to me in passing. One poet I encountered recently posted this quote on his IG:

In order to love who you are, you cannot hate the experiences that shaped you.

I guess I’m full of quotes from unknown authors today. I have one last one…this time I know the author (well, artist).

As we move into the promise of a new year, we must consider finding the purpose in our past. It can be a difficult journey of self-exploration, but in the end I believe it has the potential to empower not only you, but people you have yet to meet. It sure has for me.

I’ll end with a song by Mandisa called That’s What Scars Are For.

“They remind me of your faithfulness and all You brought me through. They teach me that my brokenness is something You can use. They show me where I’ve been, and that I’m not there anymore. That’s what scars, that’s what scars are for.”

Mandisa