The One Who Matters the Most Will Remember You

Southport, NC |  Photographer:  Tamarah Ellen

I was listening to a great leader yesterday. He was speaking about living with a good conscience. He is a retired Pastor, Pastor Phillip Wagner.  I just stumbled onto a YouTube video of him while reading a blog. His message was beautiful. He spoke about three things that will lead you to live with a good conscience.

First, he said to make gratitude a daily focus. In other words, give thanks in all circumstances.

Second, look for unplanned moments to help others. Be open to these moments, and they will appear.

Third, realize that perseverance produces strength. He said, “Perseverance is the quality that allows all other qualities to exist. Perseverance is the quality that allows all other qualities to flourish: you want to grow in your prayer, leadership, and relationships. You persevere through hard times so you can celebrate in good times.”

“The greater your storm, the brighter your rainbow.”  Unknown

These words from Pastor Phillip were powerful to me, as lately I have been struggling in my heart with questions about why the world is the way it is, why people are so angry, and how some forget people who’ve helped them, or forget how they got started, who lifted them, or who guided them.  People have pulled away so far from spirituality that they are easily distracted by “SELF.” 

The way that I am working on dealing with this is through practicing these three things that Pastor Phillip talks about. In his sermon, he spoke about how he and his wife made a gratitude jar. Each day they wrote down what they were grateful for on a posty note and put it in the jar. Whenever they were struggling, they would look at the jar, and it would be filled.

I practice remembering to be grateful whenever I get down or feel the weight of the world on me. I speak out loud to God and thank Him by listing things out loud that I am grateful for.

Recently, I had reached out to someone I had helped and wanted to hear the good news. I made several efforts, to no avail. No one answered, and that can hurt. We’ve all felt forgotten at times. The only thing that gets me through it, is trusting in God. Without relying on God, I could easily give up and say to myself, “Why do I bother?”  Believe me, I have, but I immediately pick myself up and keep pushing forward.

There have been many times in my life when I have been abandoned.  The two biggest ones are when I made the decision to quit drinking and when I began speaking and writing about my faith. I quit drinking 21 years ago, and this October 2026 will make 22 years.  I lost plenty of friends, as drinkers want to be around drinkers.  The other, which has been recent, is with my magazine, speaking more about my spirituality. Since day one, I have thanked God in my “Note From Tamarah” in my magazine. But I now speak more of Him in some of my inspirational articles. Strangers have come up to me in public and thanked me.  Some friends have distanced themselves from me. Facebook friends have distanced themselves from me, which is okay, for that’s just Facebook. I do not let this stop me from speaking out. The day it is a sin to speak of God, Jesus, or Christianity is the day I do not want to live in this world.

I have believed in God and talked to God since I was a little girl. It’s not new news. I have just become more vocal about it, as I see the hate and discord in the world. Without God in my life, I would have quit a long time ago. I have felt unappreciated many times in my life and feel that no matter what I do, it’s not enough.  I am sure some of you reading this may have felt this way. Or perhaps you have not appreciated something someone has done for you.

“With Christ we can weather any storm.” – Psalm 107:29

I won’t give up, and my boyfriend, David, tells me when I feel down, or when someone comes against me, to remember Who I belong to, and that is GOD.  I do remind myself that people don’t determine our value; God does. Reminding myself of this helps tremendously. I do have to practice it quite a bit, for in this world today, it can feel challenging, so God is how I keep moving forward. I am grateful for my faith.

Don’t give up on your journey, and remember that the obstacles and struggles, whether in your work, relationships, or health, are all there to make you stronger. Perseverance is where you will see your miracles. Too many people give up right before their miracles happen. They lose faith, they give up on their health, or their dream, or give up on their children or marriage, but those who work through the tough times are the ones who will see God’s miracles.  

You are not faithful when you give up. Faith is believing even when you see nothing changing. Taking leaps of faith through daily steps shows faith, and then miracles appear. I would love to hear people complaining less and loving more. That’s what I would like to see.  I would also like to see people point their fingers at themselves rather than at others.

Remember this: When others shame you, remember that God loves you. Broken, hurt people will shame others.  If you have a dream, I believe God put that dream in your heart. Take daily steps, listen only to God, and HE will guide you to your dream, or something better. 

To your success, rock it!

Tamarah Ellen