You Might Save A Life This Christmas By Aesha Adams-Roberts "I thought about suicide." She said it so matter-of-factly, that I almost missed the impact of what she'd said. We were sitting in the faculty dining room, our University's version of a four star restaurant. She was afraid to walk over the threshold into the dining room, and clung to her winter coat like a security blanket instead of checking it at the door. While we sat at the table, the waitstaff served us ice cold water in wine goblets while she kept smoothing over her long beautiful hair as though she were unsure of herself. She confessed to me that in all the years she'd worked for the university in the maintenence department, she'd never eaten there. She felt like she didn't belong. I told her God wanted her to know how precious she was and told me to treat her like a princess. After we both scarfed down a few pieces of fried fish, she opened her heart to me. She shared about her marriage to minister who turned out to be a con artist, his eventual arrest after the birth of their daughter, and his current attempts to get full custody despite the fact he hadn't been around for over 10 years. The court battle was draining her bank account and her emotional strength. Instantly, I knew want to do. You see, my husband and I had decided that instead of buying Christmas gifts for each other we'd take that money and secretly bless someone else. The single mom sitting at the table across from me was... Read More
A Christmas Love Story: How I Went From Heartbreak To Happiness
It was the riskiest thing I’d ever done. I just packed my things, loaded my car and started driving. I’d never driven alone on the highway before, but I was desperate to get away from a very toxic relationship. The physical distance helped, but I still had some emotional baggage. I kept talking to him on the phone and even planned to spend Christmas with his family. A few days before Christmas, I called him at our usual time. His roommate told me he wasn’t there. “He asked to borrow my car,” she said. “I don’t know, Aesha. I don’t know,” she said. I could tell something wasn’t right. When I brought it up to him the next day, he “confessed” that he was on a date with another woman! I was angry, heartbroken and somewhat relieved that I finally had the courage to break it off for good. My new roommate didn’t want me to be alone for the holidays and invited me to spend Christmas with her family. Being surrounded by new friends and family helped to soothe the ache I felt in my heart. At that moment, I had a mindset shift and decided to enjoy the holidays no matter what. The following year, I moved back to my hometown in the Midwest. This time Christmas would be different. In October I’d met an amazing man and we were spending quite a bit of time together. I’d invited him to Thanksgiving and he accepted. After Thanksgiving dinner we had our first official date, but we still hadn’t started a relationship. In fact, he’d kept telling... Read More