Someone asked me yesterday how I was able to write for two widely distributed books. It’s funny because while I refused to take it personal, I got a sense that he meant…a Latina, a woman with a public school background who lived in the projects of the LES (Lower East Side of Manhattan) with her single parent mom. It smacked of superiority and the real question he wanted to ask was how the "hell" did you get that opportunity. My response? Favor ain’t fair.

That is the bottomline folks. When I review my life, I have to say that I have been afforded wonderful opportunities but trust me I have had my share of heartaches as well. No don’t get me wrong, I am not making dollars but I am content, I am not living in a mansion but I am content, I do not have perfect children or a perfect husband but they are my world and I’m glad I still have an intact family.  I rewind on my life and see that God has been good to me even though…(my life has not been pain free)

For instance… before I had my first born son, I wondered who would take care of him, I waited 7 years to have my son after marriage because I wanted everything to be ‘just right’…then wise women around me told me ‘it ain’t ever going to be perfect for kids’ . We finally decided to start a family and figured that question would work itself out…it did, I got a job working for a wonderful man who didn’t micromanage me or need to see me in his face for him to know that I was working, thus, I had 6 months maternity leave fully paid working from home with some occasional visits to the office, then my husband left his job and got a part time with them so he could stay with my son and I could return to work. This job also helped me out when I was going through the drama with my second son’s premature birth, subsequent 27 surgeries of which I had many nights in the hospital and yes…they paid me. Yes, you can say that was a hook-up but that was also the favor factor…God had the hook-up planned…

Such was the case of me getting some writing gigs, some people I met while working in community/church circles knew that I was in a doctoral program and thought I should write. This particular woman who I look up to immensely (Dr. Elizabeth Conde Frazier) called me out of the blue and told me that a group of folks were putting this book together and they needed a New Yorker who was familiar with women’s issues also and she thought of me but I wasn’t her first person, I was her second but the first person could not do it (she was trying to finish her doctorate and was not taking anything on extra), I was not at that stage yet and while I was scared out of my wits (all the other folks in the book had doctorates already and yes I felt like I would not have anything to contribute), she told me to do it and that it would be good for my future. Glad I listened because it is check this out.  My Prism gig through Rudy’s recommendation. My other book gig through another recommendation by AG Latino bigwig, Rev. Dr. Jesse Miranda. My speaking engagements in mostly Black circles by one simple invitation by Dr. Sujay. Then one thing lead to another and more opportunities arose.

What I am trying to say here is that God has all these things in MY future, in YOUR future, planned out already and there are people He is going to use to make it happen. This is especially important for all of us. We cannot and should not be our sister’s or brother’s obstacle, we need to "pay it forward". If you’ve seen God’s favor in your life by others simply doing something without ‘ego’, let us do the same. We help so many people just by telling someone else about someone who is doing something we think is cool and honestly, you may not even have a tight relationship with the person but you know in your heart what they are doing, what they have to say is something others need to know about..then step out and let God’s favor for others shine through you. It’s a great feeling and it always comes back to you tenfold.