I know this is going to be hard to stomach but you have to thank folk who took advantage of you. Read it again because I need it to sink in. You have to thank those who maliciously used you because it made you the strong person you are now. Those folk who abused you, thank them. Those who lied on you, thank them. Those who mishandled your gifts, thank them. Those who used you, thank them. Those who profited from your work, thank them. Thank them for doing it while you were in your suffering because now they have no rights to say they had a part in your elevation. Thank them for trying to corrupt your vision while you were trying to build your business because now they have no access to your brand. Thank them for trying to kill you then because now you realize, your life has meaning. Thank them for talking about you while nobody knew your name because now, they have nothing more to say. Thank them for telling the story of your past because it was them that got somebody to recognize the gift you really where. Thank them for walking out because it made room for you to see who was really meant to be there.
Beloved, thank those who took advantage of you. Give them their props for being the greatness you now are. Tip your hat to them, include them in your acknowledgements, call their name in your acceptance speech and dedicate your first book to them. Thank them for giving you the chance to see the wrong in order to appreciate the right. Thank the old spouse for not appreciating you, the old boss for undervaluing you, the old publisher for misusing you, the old doctor for misdiagnosing you, the old friends for walking out on you, the old co-workers who laughed at you and the old pastor for overlooking you. You even have to thank the past because had it not been for it, you never would have been able to look at your present with eyes of gratitude. Thank those who took advantage of you because whether you know it, you needed them. Here is my testimony. “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives, Genesis 50:20.”
Lakisha, the Author 