Even While they Bark…
Every story has an antagonist and a protagonist.
The protagonist is the champion. The advocate in the story with a mandate on his or her life to create, develop or deliver GOOD to this side of heaven. Antagonists oppose this mandate and often show up to disrupt with devious plans and with a loud bark.
Who is barking at you? Who is the antagonist in the ‘live action’ story of your life?
Antagonists are nothing new to fictional stories or history or even today’s news.
We are witnessing, now, a loud bark across the globe concerning Harry and Megan.
We have studied how Harriet Tubman persevered.
Different times. Different people. Different circumstances. The one common theme throughout is that they carried on… even while they barked.
The antagonist in your story is the “they” meant to haunt, to crucify, to influence you to shrivel up and die; to stop you from delivering what you were intended to deliver this side of heaven. It is the voice in your head that keeps telling you “you are not good enough” or that “someone else deserves your blessing.” It is bias. It is deceit. It is memories that haunt you. It is fear. It is judgement. It is crippling guilt.
Don’t let the antagonist win and if it so happens that you are the very voice in your head that keeps saying “you are not good enough,” tell it to shut up. Because if you were not, the enemy of your soul would not be wasting words or its’ influence. The snake in the Garden of Eden knew what was to be lost with Adam and Eve heeding its advice. Most antagonists know what is at stake. They know what they are to gain at your demise. They know the feast to be partaken, the families to be destroyed, communities impacted and the significance of every loss. We must not succumb to its’ plans. We must starve it. Deny it. We must surround ourselves with resources, with people who can help and guide us.
As you head into Summer 2023, may I encourage you that even while they bark…. Keep going.
Even while they bark, keep believing.
Even while they try to destroy you or throw dirt on your name, keep blooming.
Cry for a little if you must. Then get up, wipe your face and move on. Move on wounded. Move on in pain. Keep fighting for the light of day.
I do not know what giants you are to beat down or what mountains you are to tell to move or what bumpy road you are to overcome but the antagonist in your “live action” story must not win.
Noah understood his assignment and that he needed to keep going even while the naysayers barked. Jesus of Nazareth knew that he had to keep going even after the most brutal of attacks.
Rosa Parks would not get up.
Ruby Bridges kept walking.
The Freedom Riders rode on.
There are men and women from every ethnicity and walk of life who have carried on.
This must be your story. Your name must be read and known as one who made it; who did it; who conquered; who achieved it; who stared at their fears and made them bow; who did not let go; who was relentless; who knew something inside was wrong and sought help; who persevered through the storms to an ending of one of the greatness stories ever told….even while they barked.
Sharwin Wiltz-Boney is an entrepreneur, business consultant/coach, speaker and author who currently serves as President and CEO of a financial infrastructure management company that has operated in the Houston area for more than a decade. Utilizing the experience, she has gained through business ventures and her very own life journey, Sharwin invites you into her Musings. Have a comment? Drop her a line at sharwin@sharwinboney.com.