Unlike most
relationships, Brittney didn’t post anything on social media about me until
months after we were officially dating. She told me during just our friendship
that she was seeing a young gentleman but wasn’t sure if he and her had the
same future goals spiritually or mentally as her, so I continued to be her friend. Our conversations grew deeper and longer and then randomly one day she
then told me the young man who she was seeing had gotten locked up; immediately
we prayed for the young man and for his family. Was this God sending
a signal to me that I should pursue her? How can I know to
make her my girlfriend and she was telling ME that she was also dating another
man months before me? I trusted my heart and trusted that God had
that situation happen for a reason. Phone conversations led to dates, inviting
her to my church and then yes, I asked her to be my girlfriend like a 3rd grader
few months later.
As I stated
previously, Brittney didn’t post me on social media at all in the beginning and
I didn’t find it weird but I knew she loved social media A LOT, but
once she did post the things I’ve done for her and a little bit about my life;
several people's comments were: "Where did he come from?", "Does he have a brother?” "Now
that's a real man", etc. The things that she would put on
social media about me were so positive, unbelievable, and it made me look
flawless. But was I flawless? Am I really the man
who you see and hear about on social media? Am I the good
godly man I appear to be? As of today, my answer to those
questions is yes (except for being flawless. I'm far from perfect). But was I
like this a year ago? The truth is no. Not even close…
When Brittney
and I first met last year early August 2013, I was not a "man". I was
a 27 year old "boy", who lived at home in his mother's basement rent-free,
drove his little sister's hooptie car to get around, and worked as a part time
substitute teacher only two days a week (if that). I didn't consider myself a
man because I didn’t handle my responsibilities. I was living a starving artist
lifestyle. Yes, I had many accomplishments as an actor. But it was never
consistent. One month I could make $5000 off of acting gigs, and then the next
three months not make a dime. $5000 stretched over 3 months until the
next gig equals...Broke! Especially with all the bills I had and that
money being my main source of income. Of course this meant that most dates
Brittney and I went on were being paid for by her at the beginning of our
relationship. Did that bother me at first? No. Before I met her, for a few
years I was always comfortable living off of a woman. If it wasn't me living
off of my mother, I would be in New York living off of my grandmother, or any
girl who I was dating at the time. Living on their couch (rent free), driving
their cars, eating their food (that I still didn’t even pay for). I was far
from being a real man. The truth is, that was never my objective. It was never
my goal to go out there and find a girl who I could live off of. I just always
ended up in the same situation over and over again. My focus was my
career and my career ONLY, and if a situation was convenient, I went with
it because in my mind, it was all about my career...not responsibility. To me
responsibility is what makes a man a real man. There is nothing wrong with
receiving a little help from a woman...but to take advantage of it, and get
comfortable accepting it for long periods of time...that's a problem.
After really
accessing my life, I wanted to know the root of my actions. Why was
I comfortable living off of a woman? Why did I keep falling
into the same trap over and over? I believe there were two things
that happened to me in my past that caused me to act this way. I would say the
first reason is not having a father in my home (actually, not having a father
in my life) growing up played a major part in this. I did not have a father to
look me in the eye and tell me what a real man is. Yes, I had mentors who gave
me guidance, but I never told them my living situation. I never told them
everything. I played the "don’t ask, won't tell" game.
So yes, my mentors gave me spiritual advice, financial advice (with the little
income I had), and many other great things, but no one was able to give me
sound advice on living off a woman. How can you give someone advice, if
they don’t know that is what you are struggling with? It was
because they didn’t know I lived that way. So here I am
in church, putting on a front like all is well, with no worries, but yet I
struggled in life. I struggled with my life responsibilities; I was not
tithing, I had no savings, I didn’t even have a plan for my future, besides
"getting that dream role".
The second
cause of my actions had to come from a horrible relationship break up that took
place in 2011. Before this break up happened, I was working a full time job, I
was fresh out of college and I had a plan. But this life changing break up
threw off my entire focus and wrecked my world. That relationship was a 2 year
relationship that I was not respected as a man. Did I realize this at the time?
No. I was just happy to be with someone who I thought wanted a future with me.
This break up hurt me a lot, because I just knew this was someone I was going
to marry. I had $2,500 saved for an engagement ring and I was ready to move on
with our future. But she had other plans, and the break up was drastic and out
of nowhere. I thought being a good, honest and loyal boyfriend was
enough. But it wasn’t. The words she said that I could never forget, "I
need a real man, you can't do anything for me. I don’t know what you’re
missing, but you're just not a man, you're still growing up". I
truly believe those words is what led me to spending the next two years living
the way I did. I let her words define me. She spoke that into my life and I
believed it. For two years after the break up, I lived my life crying about "she
didn’t think I was a man", rather than taking that time to seek
God to watch me grow as man. From 2011 to 2013, I was stuck trying to recover
from it.
Between those
two years, I've dated other women, but I kept falling into the trap of living
off of them. Living off of them is what kept them leaving me. Finally in April
2013, I was tired of my situation with relationships and my choices, and I
decided that I didn’t want to date anyone for a while. In fact, I ended up not
dating anyone for 6 months. During those six months, I grew closer to God more
than ever. He began to show me things I didn’t even realize I struggled with.
God had to clean me out. God started to prepare me for the great things he was
going to do in my life. He started to show me what purpose is really about. He
began to show me new things, new ways, and new ideas. But He first
had to show me, the "real me". The end of that 6th month
period is when I met Brittney. That's a life lesson to another man
or woman out there. Focus on your purpose, and God will show you who's supposed
to be in your life. He will also show you who shouldn’t be there. It wasn’t
until I focused on what my purpose was, that God brought Brittney into my life (I
will go into more details in another blog.) Two things were different when I
met her. For the first time in a long time, I didn't want to live off of her or
what she had. Secondly, she was a woman that wouldn't let me live off of her
even if I wanted to. This relationship is what grew me up. This relationship is
what made me WANT to be a man who can handle responsibility and handle his own.
But because I wanted her to think I was someone who I wasn’t, I spent money on
dinners and dates that I really couldn’t afford. So I continued to struggle
financially. After a month of doing that, I broke down and told Brittney the
truth about my financial situation. To my surprise, she did not judge me. She
did not leave me. She stood by my side and told me she will help me find ways
to improve my income. We prayed and gave it to God.
Over the next
few months it was a journey finding new ways to improve my income. It was a
period I was not a fan of, because Brittney began to pay for our dates, and I
ended up having to drive her car around at times, and I began to feel that I
was almost falling into that trap again. The last straw for my financial
struggle came when I found out my father died in Feb 2014. Mind you, I have not
seen him in over 20 years and his funeral was taking place in Orlando, FL. I
couldn’t even afford to go see my father one last time, for the first time in
many years. I cried and hated myself because of the fact that I was a 27 year
old who couldn’t even buy a plane ticket to go see my father. When my church
found out, they supported me and put me on a plane to go out to Orlando to pay
my respects to my father. I truly thank God for my church family, City of
Praise. It was on this plane that I sincerely decided that I will not be broke
another day in my life.
Something
inside me knew I was serious this time. And I was. When I got back from
Florida, I finally got a fulltime job. Not only did I find a job, Brittney
helped me with creative Ideas to get my private coaching business on a new
level. I went from averaging two clients a week, to averaging 16, and sometimes
even more. It was during this period that Brittney and I decided to eliminate
sex out of our relationship. As a result, over the next few months, I went from
having those two incomes to now having 7 streams of Income. In this process I
felt myself really growing up. It wasn’t the money that made me feel this way.
It was the new responsibilities I had to take on. I finally was able to move
out my mother's basement, I finally got my own car, I started to repair my
credit, and I had multiple savings accounts. Ever since Brittney's birthday in
April 2014, she never paid a dime for dinner or dates. Because she stood by my
side the entire time, I wanted her to make sure she knew how much I appreciated
her. That's why I spoil her with flowers often; I make sure she has what she
wants even before she knows she even wants it. I strive EVERYDAY to
make her smile. I love seeing her happy. I started to fully feel like a man,
because I had my own, I could handle responsibilities, and most importantly, I
fully let God take over my life.
I'll leave
you with this: Men, if you're not happy with a particular area in your
life....change! It all starts in the mind. The bible says in Romans
12:2, "Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be
transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and
approve what God's will is; his good, pleasing, and perfect will". It
was on that plane ride to Florida that I began to renew my mind. Secondly,
give God FULL control over your life. If you allow God to truly lead you and
give you direction, everything around you will grow and be blessed. Ladies,
judge a man by his heart, not what he has. Brittney could have easily left me
early in our relationship because of my living situation and my financial
situation. She helped me get to a better place by motivating me and speaking
life unto me. If you're not sure about a man you're dating, ask God to show you
his heart. Knowing his heart should help you determine if this is a man you
want to grow old with and create a dynasty. Brittney knew from the beginning
that I was being led by God when I met her. She didn’t just get loyalty and
honesty from me, she got a godly man that she knew would protect her no matter
what my status was. I thank you for taking the time to hear my story, I just
pray that this touches someone, and motivates them to want to make a change. God
bless.
Mark bro, this is a well written and truly transparent blog post. You never know what a person is going through until they share it! It is amazing how you can believe that you are going through something and only you are going through it until you hear or read someone else's story. I have to say that I'm glad to read that everything is beginning to work out for you and that you have a good woman standing by your side. Growing into manhood is a difficult journey, especially when you have to take a good look at yourself and admit that you're not the man God meant for you to be. I know I am going to enjoy reading this blog bro. Thank you and Brittney for sharing! Love yah for real!
ReplyDeleteJoe, thank you brother. You words are much appreciated . I truly believe everyone goes through a struggle to be able to help someone else who will go through the same struggle. Thanks for supporting us. We have many things that will happen on this site.
DeleteBrother,
ReplyDeleteThis just blessed me in so many ways. I cannot even begin to tell you how, it would take an entire essay to explain. I am so overwhelmed to know that it is possible to come out of that place and if I do the work, I will come out.
Thanks again brother,
Xavier Wilcher
Thank you for your response. I truly think you should write your story down. As you began to write, you will notice that there are things inside of you that you didn't even know. Try it man. If you truly believe you will get out of your situation, you will. The first step is believing, the 2nd step is praying to God, and the 3rd step is making a plan. Learn the art of listening prayer. After praying , sit in quietness for a few minutes without any distractions and just allow God to speak to you. He wants to show you financial ideas . Believe it and trust it! Praying for you
DeleteWow, absolutely man I believe that and I will take this information and act on it because I trust what you are saying is true. I trust that it has been tested and proven to work.Thanks for praying for me.
DeleteThis is such a wonderful written testimony!!!! God bless you two!!����
ReplyDeleteThank you for taking the time to support our journey. God bless you!
DeleteThis is an Awesome Transparent Testimony!! Im truly esteemed & will allow Daddy to have Full Control over my life as His Bride Until He positions me for my Husband to find me. You are both Victorious!!
ReplyDeleteGod has already prepared your Boaz. He's out there. God may be waiting on you to be in position to receive him in your life. Who God has for you ... Is for you! Keep focus on purpose, keep working on saving, keep working on helping others, and Boaz will show up. If you are not familiar with the story of Ruth, I highly recommend you study it. God bless you... And thank you for supporting our journey .
DeleteThis is a powerful testimony! I'm so happy about what the lord is doing you all lives!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much Tia!
DeleteXO,
Brittney & Mark
Thank you for your testimony. I have been dealing with the same relationship wise and I will follow your lead and taking a break to focus on God. Takes a real man to admit the rings you have. Thank you
ReplyDeleteTarrance, you are very welcome! Thank you for taking the time to read our stories. You have already taken a big step by acknowledging an area in your life that needs to change. We encourage you to talk to God in prayer and ask him to give you a scripture that will carry you through this new season you are about to experience. Whenever it gets tough and you feel like you want to fall back to your old ways, or maybe even give up, fall back on this scripture. Everyone may not understand or agree with the new choices you are making. Trust God and know that He is leading you. The bible says in Proverbs 3 , "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding". We are happy for you and we are looking forward to hearing your new story about what God has done for you since you decided to focus on Him. God bless you! We are praying for you.
DeleteThank you Mark for this testimony. I recently went through a very bad break up with someone I was dating for 3yrd and just like you I thought we will get married but I guess that's not Gods will is for me. Been through a lot emotionally, been fasting and praying and through the fasting and praying God led me to start a blog as well to encourage and motivate others with His word. But as I read your post one thing I know is that I have allowed the words that was spoken by this man during the break up to define me and just like you I believed it too. But I know deep down that's not me but its so hard to deal with. But thank you for redirecting me to focus on God and the ministry He has placed on my life right now. God bless you and Brittney .
ReplyDeleteGod bless you Bee and thank you for your support!
DeleteXO,
Brittney & Mark
Hi Mark and Brittney, this is Meghan, Rhema's friend. (Waves) But I've had the chance to be around you guys and feel your love and spirit, and today after reading your blog I'm truly moved. I admire not only you guys love for each other but for Christ. Don't ever stop what you guys are doing it's amazing.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much Megan for your love and support!
DeleteXO,
Mark & Brittney
Mark.....thank you.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your support Senteria and you are so welcome.
DeleteXO,
Mark & Brittney
Wow! It has done more than just touch and motivate me, it has opened my eyes even more than they were before. I truly thank God for you guys and leading me to this site at this point in my life. God bless you. Thank you!
ReplyDelete