My journey, life lessons, and God's grace is me-wading through the murky waters of life, only to realize that my parents knew what they were talking about, even when I was a teenager and thought I had all the sense. I've learned that every life has a path and a purpose and success is a journey, not a destination. My dad told me when I was leaving home that he could let me go because his conscience was clear. He was content in how he raised me. He said that your conscience can whip your behind worse than any physical beating because you cannot run from yourself or God. My mom told me that in a relationship with a man, you will always put up with something because all humans are flawed. You must decide for yourself, she said, "What is your personal deal breaker?" What is that you can or will not put up with? No matter your choices, you must be able to make peace with yourself. In my opinion, our personal experiences are our carbon footprints leading to our destiny. The when and why we do things. To me, life is truly in divine order while hindsight will always be 20-20.