What I Know For Sure

I know that I say this phrase often, but each time I say it I truly mean it…”there aren’t enough words to express the amount of love and adoration I have for the author Mandy Hale.” Her books have been a true inspiration and encouragement to my life. Her simple words written on paper have spoken words into my life and more importantly my heart.
It was about a year ago this time that I stumbled across her on Twitter. Someone had retweeted something she had tweeted and it happen to catch my eye. I don’t even remember what it said, but it immediately left me wanting more and wondering who she was. I did some research….googled her story and started following her on Twitter. Shortly after, I downloaded her e-book to check it out. At the time I was not much of a reader so I thought I’d start with the short ebook instead of purchasing her full book. I thought this short version I could surely make it through.
It had been a difficult year for me. I was broken, hurting, and lost. I had finally reached my breaking point and was determined to make changes in my life and start taking care of myself again. And somehow during the initial steps of trying to tackle that, was when I picked up Mandy’s ebook. I’ll never forget the nights I would sit there with tears streaming down my face as I was reading it. She said so many things that resonated with my heart and my journey. What I didn’t know at the time it was only the begininng of my journey and this was perhaps the first step for healing for me.
I have no idea why it took me so long to purchase her first book. It wasn’t until this past February that I bought, “The Single Woman”. But like with anything I think there is a perfect timing for all things and perhaps I wasn’t meant to read this book until this point. This book felt like a description of my past year. While reading through it, I felt like I was reading my own story and my own lessons learned. I found myself shaking my head in agreance, chuckling to myself out of irony and crying out of pure joy and thankfulness that I had come this far from where I was a year ago. After reading her first full book I was eager to buy her second book which didn’t get released till March. I powered through this book in a matter of days. Again relating to so much but this time speaking to my heart in a new way. There was such an amount of hope and joy from reading her story in such a beautiful way.
Over the course of the last year of following Mandy on Twitter, Facebook, and reading her words of inspiration daily, I felt like we were almost friends of a sort. I adore her bravery and her vulnerability, her courage, and her faith! I feel like if we met and lived in the same city we would be fast friends. I can relate to her story in such a powerful way as I’m sure so many other single woman out there reading it do as well. It was by no accident that I stumbled across her page and began following when I did. Her words served a big part in healing my heart and now continue on as I share my story to hopefully help mend someone else heart too.

I wrote this above portion of this blog back in May. I’m not entirely sure why I never posted it at the time. Perhaps it was because it was one that I had sat down and wrote quickly and felt it wasn’t written well enough yet for posting. Now many months later I come back to it. I love full circle moments! Those moments when you stop and realize something, that ah-hah moment when it all makes sense now and it comes together beautifully in such a way your taken back. I love those moments because they stop me in my tracks and remind me who’s really in charge (not myself) and the bigger picture in life! I believe nothing is by accident or a mistake and that everything has it’s perfect timing.
One evening recently, I was watching Entertainment Tonight and I briefly saw that they were interviewing Oprah Winfrey. She was talking about her new book that was out. I saw a few snipits of the interview. I wasn’t entirely sure what her book was about but it seemed as though it has to do with gratitude in her life. For whatever reason in that moment I grabbed my phone, looked the book up on Amazon, and clicked purchase. I didn’t think about it; I just bought it. I’ve always admired Oprah’s love for people and her gracious heart and that’s something I want more of in my life. About a week later her book came in the mail and on that very same day Mandy Hale posted on Instagram that she was reading the very same book. By chance or coincedence you say? I don’t think so. I think it was one of those sweet full circle moments when God say’s this is for you my dear child! I’ve since read, “What I Know For Sure” and sure enough it was exactly what I needed to read at just exactly the right time.
So that’s what brought me back to this original blog I had written and tossed aside. Maybe when I first wrote it, it wasn’t the right time. Maybe there is someone reading this now that needed to be encouraged today, or experience their own full circle moment, or needs to run out and by a book that might just change your life. Whatever the case is…what I know for sure is: Nothing is by chance. Everything has a purpose.

Thanks for reading,
A. Flavio