Forgiveness and Reconciliation
As I mentioned in my first blog, I love my parents and I am thankful for the gift of them. But truth is, my childhood was difficult, at best. In future posts, I’ll tell you more, but for now, it’s important that you know that I came to a place of great forgiveness and reconciliation with each of them before they passed – and for that I will always be grateful.
“You will spend your life barefoot and pregnant. You will never be anything better than a secretary. I wouldn’t waste my money on you.”
That was my father’s reply when I asked him if he could help me with the finances to go to college. Throughout my childhood, my father was an abusive alcoholic. Extreme violence, intense abuse of every kind at all hours of the day and night, rage, anger and hatred from my father was my day-to-day reality. I lived in paralyzing fear of him.
My father left our family two days before my high school graduation, but in the months leading up to that day, I applied for every scholarship and grant I could, and received all I needed to pay my way through the 2.5 years it took me to graduate Magna Cum Laude with my 4-year degree. I was a commuter student with a heavy class load who also worked close to full time hours to help my mother pay the mortgage of our family home in Orange, New Jersey.
In spite of, or perhaps, because of what my father said, I was driven to be successful in my career. And I was, but no matter how much money I made, how many hours I worked, how high I climbed on the corporate ladder or how many awards I won, I knew something deep inside me was missing. I successfully ran my own marketing corporation, but I longed to make a real difference in the lives of people who faced the same struggles that I did, but did not have the tools needed to cross the bridge to a safe and fruitful life.
“Ok Lord, I need to know where my life is going from here.”
In my emptiness, I turned to God. I asked Him to give me direction. Through prayer, I became aware of a growing desire in my heart to help people at risk. My initial ideas were simple and basic: start an organization that would assist people, especially women, in developing self-worth and confidence by helping them with the preparation needed to obtain employment. I called the organization, The Dream House because I hoped through this organization that at-risk people could fulfill their hopes, their dreams and their potential.
In 2009, after 21 years of highly successful work, I closed my marketing agency. The Holy Spirit was leading me to make a greater contribution in non-profit, faith-based work. I accepted a position as the Executive Director of two internationally known non-profit organizations based in Atlanta. I learned firsthand on both the administrative and personal level about making a difference one person at a time. Although we helped countless lives over the years, The Dream House remained etched in my heart and always in my thoughts, but the original concept had grown into something much larger.
Have Dinner on Us
At Christmas time during the 1990’s, my family of four wanted to acknowledge important people in our lives: teachers, coaches, administrators, sales reps, managers, and clients. We would receive homemade cookies, preserves and candy as gifts, so the idea was born to make my marinara pasta sauce, put it in quart-sized jars and place it with a box of spaghetti in a cellophane holiday bag wrapped with a ribbon. A note was attached to every jar of sauce, “In this busy season when there’s no time to cook, have dinner on us.”
We made 250+ jars every year and they were amazingly popular. Word spread in both the advertising community and in the school district where my husband worked, and people began asking if they could “special order” the sauces of their choice including marinara, arrabbiata, meat, vodka, tetrazzini, clam, pizza sauce and others. People would send us notes or verbally suggest that we market the sauces.
Over the years, person after person came into my life affirming this direction. Even chance meetings with people on planes who were involved with food management gave me vital information leading me to the next step in the journey.
In early November 2016, the desire of my heart to get this business/company off the ground became almost painful. One day, I arrived back in Phoenix from a very intense business trip. I sat down on my couch and had a moment of great clarity. As if the Lord was standing right next to me, I heard Him say, “go back to the beginning”.
The beginning was simple: help at-risk people get employed.
The vision became much clearer.
And the The LITA Project® was born.
Praying you blessings for the journey,
Yvonne (aka, Lita)
