Let me be honest with you: I didn't always have the faith I write about now. There were seasons in my life — and if you've read Heaven On Earth, you know exactly which ones I'm talking about — where I was running on empty. Raising babies, grieving my mother, wondering if God had forgotten my address.
What I had was a Bible, my mother's prayers buried deep in my memory, and five scriptures I clung to like a lifeline. These are the ones that carried me, and I share them in case you're in a season where you need carrying too.
1. Jeremiah 29:11 — "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."
There was a time I couldn't see past my circumstances. Harlem girl, young mother, limited everything. This verse reminded me that my current situation was not my final destination. God had plans — not just survival plans, but hope and a future plans. I started making decisions like someone with a future, and my life began to shift.
2. Psalm 46:1 — "God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble."
When my mother Sharon passed in 2008, trouble wasn't a visitor — it moved in. I learned that grief doesn't have a timeline, but God doesn't have office hours either. He was ever-present: in the quiet of 3 a.m. feedings, in the tears I cried where nobody could see, in the strength to get up the next morning.
3. Isaiah 40:31 — "But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint."
Motherhood will test every ounce of strength you have — and then ask for more. I have five children, and there were days I didn't know where the next ounce was coming from. Waiting on the Lord became my strategy. Not striving, not forcing — hoping. And somehow, strength I didn't have showed up anyway.
4. Romans 8:28 — "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."
This is the whole foundation of Lemons With a Purpose. Every sour thing — the loss, the struggle, the setbacks — God can work into something good. Not that the lemons were good. But that He is good, and He wastes nothing. My memoir is the proof of that promise in my own life.
5. Psalm 139:14 — "I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well."
Becoming whole meant unlearning every lie I believed about myself. That I was too much, not enough, too late, too broken. This verse was the mirror I needed: I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Not despite my story — including it. If you're struggling to believe that about yourself today, borrow my faith for a minute. It's true for you too.
If any of these verses met you where you are, I'd love to hear about it. And if you want the full story of how God turned my lemons into purpose — the grief, the motherhood, the becoming — it's all in Heaven On Earth. You can download it instantly right here on the site.
Keep turning those lemons, sis. — Shanetta