Don’t be deceived by your heart

A big part of the time I feel like I don’t belong, like I’m out of place. At my job. At school. In meetings. At church. 

I feel especially out of place at school as I pursue a degree in criminal justice. I look around at other students who are young and fresh, straight out of (or still in) their parents’ homes. 

And here I am, 40 years old, a homeowner, a convicted felon. 

I’m barely tame, and I’m vocal. These kids are quiet and not sure of themselves — most of them, anyway, not all. 

I look around and I’m like, “How did I get here?” I feel unsure of myself. 

But that doesn’t stop me. 

I feel like I talk too much. 

The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? — Jeremiah 17:9, New International Version

But I don’t shut up. 

I feel like I try too hard. 

But I keep trying. 

Why? Because I will not let my own heart deceive me. I will choose to use my mind. I will overcome. I will battle. I will win. 

At 40 years old, I refuse to be a victim. I will not be imprisoned by my own emotions. I will say. I will speak. I will sing my song. I will overcome, and I will succeed. 

I will not stand in the way of God’s plan for me. I refuse. 

“I will overcome. I will battle. I will win.”

If you are struggling, find comfort in these words. Read them twice. 

You are an overcomer. You can achieve. Get out of your own way. Finish the race, and finish strong. Give it all you’ve got. 

There is a prize that waits.

CATRINA CABE is a survivor of survival sex, strip clubs, pornography, trafficking and prostitution. She is the founder of Cry for the Broken, which reaches out to addicted prostitutes in the Chattanooga, Tenn., area with hygiene products, food, water and love with the goal of helping them transition to sobriety-based living. The Clear Creek Church of Christ in Hixon, Tenn., sponsors the ministry.

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