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I Choose Jesus...And I Choose Me! (Even During an Estrangement)

  • Writer: Crystal McDaniel
    Crystal McDaniel
  • Apr 8
  • 3 min read

Crystal McDaniel, Mrs. Chattanooga America (photo credit: Holte Avery
Crystal McDaniel, Mrs. Chattanooga America (photo credit: Holte Avery

I have written before that I am competing for the title of Mrs. Tennessee America. The above photo is one of my headshots for the pageant. The pageant is now 18 days away! I have been working on this for months, and now it is almost here. I am getting in the last of what I need mode. New white pants, shoes, earrings, I have to pick up my gown, a few makeup supplies, a clothes rack, an air wrap curling iron, etc. It is a little crazy. I have to make sure I have a QR code for Big to wear on his vest. He is very popular, so I created an instagram for him. Yes, Big will be with me, most of the time. It was a hard road to get to this point. Lots of walking, weight training, eating right, giving up sugar altogether, and working on my mental and emotional health. Letting go of the things that hold me back. Letting go of self-sabotage. Not listening to the negative junk that says, "Everyone is better than you. You are too old." No!!! Just NO! I still have something to give! I have learned self-worth. The estrangement knocked me for a loop. Just like Rocky, I may be bloody, and tired. What I know is this, "I CAN TAKE A PUNCH AND GET BACK UP!" You better be fast on your feet, and know how to move, because I will punch back! LOL!


Estrangement with my adult daughter is painful. I freely admit it. It is just like a death. It is a death. The death of a relationship that I had, and now, no matter what happens, it will be different. Different doesn't have to be bad. It is just what it says, different. I do not know what that means right now. I will have to wait and see what God is going to do with this piece of different. I do know He has a plan, and my job is to follow Him, and obey Him. That is what I have decided. To know that I can have my life torn apart, and my heart broken, then move forward, regardless...


It isn't that I have never had my heart broken. I have had it broken many times. I was devastated when my son died. I was devastated when my mother and I were betrayed by close family, and friends. (I am the outcast within my immediate family). That is a story for another time. The death of my son was not his choice. With my estranged adult daughter, it was her choice. That is what makes it so very painful. Yet, I move forward, step by step. Nelson and I choose to build the life we dream of having, and that God promised us, anyway...


I decide every single day to follow Jesus. I choose Jesus over everything, even my husband and children. I choose Jesus when I am happy, I choose Jesus when I am heartbroken. I choose to go to the, "Light of the World." I walk to the light, though at times it is tiny, and way in the distance. I choose Him! I also choose Me! I heard a story about Serena Williams. In this story she talked about how when she made it to her first Wimbeldon Finals, all the press talked about was the other person she was playing. They doubted she would win. In this story she allegedly told, it was said that she decided that if everyone was going to choose the other person, she would choose herself! Then, later on when everyone was saying she was too old, she decided, "I Choose Me!" I think that it is tremendous thought process. I adopted it for myself and the Mrs. Tennessee America Title. I CHOOSE ME! God chose me! God says, "I am fearfully and wonderfully made!" Psalms 139:14. In His eyes, I am young, still just a child. I am going with that way of seeing me!


Estrangement or not, I say it again, "I CHOOSE ME!"


This Saturday, April 12, 2025, the voting for, "The People's Choice," starts. It ends during intermission at the pageant on April 26, 2025. I will be posting a link on here, as well as, on my Facebook page and my Instagram, @mrschattanooga. Each vote is $1.00 and the money goes to support two Charities, Victoria's Voice, and The Severe County Animal Shelter. Please join me in choosing, "ME!" I would love to have your support and come along for the ride! I am planning on winning Mrs. Tennessee America.


Please remember that you are loved and enough. Comment below and let us hear from you. We want to know your story.


 
 
 

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