I used to be a person that lacked color. A girl who never spoke. A girl who was never seen. A chameleon-type demeanor. My colors weren't bright and happy. They were black and gray in every tone and shade. I adapted to my surroundings. I found places to hide in wide open spaces and I slowly dissolved into my surroundings. I was a girl without an identity. A girl who lacked personality. I was alive and I was just there, and I didn't understand why. I lacked purpose. I lacked meaning. I lacked color. "Who was Ashley?" Weren't just my thoughts, no one quite knew. I blended into the walls and silently withdrew.

Florida

"But I always saw you and I knew. When you felt alone, I held your hand, even when you didn't feel me near. I watched as you observed, wondering what it would be like to be them. They were all these things I never created you to be. They were them, and I just wanted you to be you. Do you notice how you notice them? The ones like you. They feel the same way you used to.

They sit alone in the lunchroom. They feel afraid and unseen. They are riddled with anxiety. They can’t see Me but I'm also there with them. You notice them because I gave you eyes to see. I want you to show them Me. I want you to share your story. I gave you your color. I gave you a new life. I gave you something to believe. I was never gone, you just ignored Me, but now we work together in perfect harmony. Your faith partnered with Me. And I've given you new desires and dreams so that you can be the woman I created you to be. But it doesn't end with you. I gave you eyes to see and a voice to speak. You cannot raise your voice and not be heard. You are gifted in seeing the unseen. And I've called you to shine your light so that others may also see. Baby girl, my children are never not seen."

I. Lack of Color (God’s Response)