My Life Raising Brown Girls

Breast cancer awareness is more than wearing pink. It is about education, prevention, early detection, access to quality healthcare, and standing together to support the women and families whose lives have been touched by this disease. Breast cancer does not discriminate. It can affect women of every age, race, background, and walk of life. However, the impact is not the same for everyone. For Black and Brown women, breast cancer can bring additional challenges, including health disparities, barriers to screening and treatment, financial concerns, and unequal access to quality healthcare. Understanding Breast Cancer Breast cancer occurs when abnormal cells in the breast grow uncontrollably and form a tumor. Some breast cancers grow slowly, while others can be aggressive and spread to other parts of the body. There are several types of breast cancer, and understanding the differences is important because the type of cancer, its stage, and its biological characteristics...

Mental health is an essential part of our overall well-being. It influences how we think, feel, manage stress, build relationships, make decisions, and navigate life's challenges. Yet, for Black and Brown individuals and families, conversations about mental health can be difficult to begin. Understanding Mental Health and Mental Illness Mental health encompasses our emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It affects how we cope with stress, relate to others, make decisions, and function in everyday life. Mental health exists on a continuum, and our emotional well-being can change throughout our lives. Mental illnesses are health conditions that can affect a person’s thoughts, emotions, mood, behavior, relationships, and ability to manage daily activities. They range from mild to severe, and a person may experience more than one condition at the same time. Mental illness is not a personal failure, a lack of faith, or a sign of weakness. It is not something a per...

At forty-two, my menstrual cycle changed. Not gradually. Not quietly. It became something I had to manage, anticipate, and plan my life around. My periods became heavy. The bleeding was intense, and blood clots became a regular part of my experience. I never knew exactly what to expect, so I learned to prepare for the worst. I carried extra menstrual products everywhere.  I thought about where the nearest bathroom was. I worried about sitting too long. I worried about standing up. I worried about bleeding through my clothes. I worried about being caught somewhere without enough protection. And slowly, something else changed. My wardrobe. I had always loved wearing colorful, vibrant clothes. But those colors began disappearing from my closet. I started choosing dark, dreary clothing not because I suddenly stopped loving color, but because I was afraid of what might happen if I bled through my clothes. Black became practical. Dark colors became protection. My clothing choices ...

There is a quiet weight many of us carry. One that does not always get named out loud. It lives in our decisions, in the pressure to succeed, in the guilt that surfaces when we fall short. It sounds like a whisper, and sometimes a demand: Don’t let my sacrifice be a waste. For many of us, that voice belongs to our parents. It is in the long hours they worked, the opportunities they did not have, the things they went without so we could have more. It is in the risks they took, the environments they endured, and the strength they summoned just to make it through each day. Whether they ever said those exact words or not, the message often lands the same—we are expected to make it mean something. And it does mean something. Somewhere along the way, that meaning can become heavy. What begins as gratitude can quietly turn into pressure. We start measuring our worth by how well we’re honoring their sacrifices. Every misstep feels like more than a personal failure; It feels like a betrayal of ...

There is something sacred about the love of a mother; especially one who has journeyed through many seasons of life. Our elderly mothers carry stories, sacrifices, wisdom, and a quiet strength that has shaped who we are. As time gently changes their bodies and rhythms, our hearts naturally turn toward them with deeper care, gratitude, and concern. In these moments, prayer becomes a powerful way to honor them. Today, I invite you to pause and lift up a heartfelt prayer for the healing and restoration of the mothers who have poured so much into us. Gracious and Loving God, We come before you with thankful hearts, lifting up our elderly mothers into your compassionate care. Thank You for their lives; their love, their resilience, and the countless ways they have nurtured and guided us. Lord, we ask for your healing hand to rest upon them. Where there is pain, bring comfort. Where there is weakness, renew strength. Where there is illness, release your rest. Calm their minds and eas...

Heavenly Father, Thank You for the gift of children and the privilege of guiding them. Parenting can be joyful, but it can also be exhausting and challenging. Lord, help us to see each difficult moment as an opportunity to grow in patience, perseverance, and faith, just as You teach in Romans 5:3–5. Strengthen our character, deepen our hope, and remind us that our efforts are never in vain. Father, give us wisdom to build homes filled with love and care, to plant seeds of faith and kindness, and to raise our children with intention, as You instructed through Jeremiah 29:4–7. Help us to bless our families, our homes, and our communities, trust that as we invest in them, they will thrive. Lord, guide our hearts as we teach, correct, and nurture, remembering Proverbs 22:6, that the lessons we impart now can shape our children for a lifetime. Give us patience on the hard days, joy in the small victories, and faith that Your Spirit is working in both us and our children. May our home...