You REIGN...

(Makeup by Sabrena Cross, Photo by Steven Grant)

(Makeup by Sabrena Cross, Photo by TheLennz Bennett)

Hi. My name is Lereca Monik. I am a client of Sabrena’s. When Sabrena asked me to write for her blog I was unclear about my messaging- it actually took me maybe two weeks to decide on my approach; but here is what I came up with. Wait, did I introduce myself? I think I did; but let me start over.

Hi, my name is Lereca Monik. I know when you look at my picture you think…oh my she is so beautiful, she has an inviting smile, her hair is on point, and her make-up is the business. THANK YOU for the compliments by the way. While I have a look and most people would consider me to be physically beautiful- I haven’t always felt beautiful. Earlier this year, I had a conversation with GOD that would change my life forever.

In January of 2016, I attended a training seminar entitled “Presentation Power.” While at the conference, many people told me that I had a beautiful spirit and that I lite up the room. While I was extremely appreciative of their compliments, I could not accept their statements as true because I did NOT see myself the same way! I went home and had a conversation with GOD. I said “GOD I know I am a great person, I know that I deserve a great life, I know I have so much to offer the world….What is wrong with me? I said “GOD please help me to see myself the way others see me. God please help me to see myself in the way you see me.”

Here was God’s reply in an assertive voice, “YOU ARE LOVED!” At the very first time in my life I finally felt loved. I instantly got a glimpse of the past situations in my life that I experienced made me feel unloved.

I felt unloved because I experienced being molested as a five year old,

I felt unloved because my mother spent most of my life in prison, and I witnessed her addiction to crack;

I felt unloved because my abusive, addicted father was absent for a huge component of my life;

I felt unloved because my entire family let me down and I was forced into foster care;

I felt unloved because I was raped in high school and no one was there to protect me;

I felt unloved because I remember eating Vienna sausage and beans out of a can, in the backseat of a rabbit car- yes I lived in a car when I was younger;

I felt unloved because my entire life was thrown in the trash when I was sixteen years old- my parents trashed everything that meant something to me;

I felt unloved because I felt I wasn’t worthy and felt forced into being a single mother;

I felt unloved because I isolated myself and I didn’t have girlfriends…

This list can continue; but I think you get the point. I felt unloved and unworthy of love. That day I knew that I deserved greatness and that I could no longer be ashamed of my past. Instead, it was necessary for me to make peace with it. The best way for me to make peace with my past was for me to share my story, so here I am sharing.

Now I can pursue greatness! Now I feel beautiful! Now I feel like a queen! Now I am a queen! My life is forever changed. Here is the lesson; we all have a story to tell. Trust me when you chose to share your story you will feel so much better. Maybe your platform is in the form of writing a letter verses a stage; either way share your story. When you do, you will experience a peace that surpasses all understanding.

With Confident Enthusiasm,

Lereca Monik

Ms. Texas America 2016

"You REIGN:

You were born for greatness. Share your story. Now go be great!"

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Le Reca Monik