Life, Values & Legacy: Our Chat with Tasharae Nicholson

We recently had the chance to connect with Tasharae Nicholson and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Tasharae, thank you for taking the time to reflect back on your journey with us. I think our readers are in for a real treat. There is so much we can all learn from each other and so thank you again for opening up with us. Let’s get into it: When have you felt most loved—and did you believe you deserved it?
There was a time in my life when I felt like I was a mess. It was as though my whole sense of self felt wrong, However, when I began to open up and be vulnerable with the Lord about what I was feeling, it was then that the unexpected happened.

As I continued on the path of vulnerability, I began to feel His love. This love was so tangible, yet, not conditional. There I was, feeling like something was wrong with my entire being (yes, I felt like a complete mess, but that’s what shame does to us). I was not doing the worst or the most, but I was doing things that were not pleasing to God, yet in a moment of vulnerability, I experienced the love of God. I didn’t think I deserved it. I kept saying in my Jamaican dialect, “God yuh jus a luv mi suh, how yuh jus a luv mi suh” (God, you are just loving me so. How are you just loving me so?). Nevertheless, the more I said it, the more of His love I felt. I realized then, that it was not a matter of being deserving.

I felt like He wrapped his arms around me, and gave me a literal hug. More than that, do you know that song that says, “Jesus’ love is a bubbling over”?

Well, I have felt His love filling me up and overflowing my heart. It removed the negative emotions I was experiencing, and today I can boldly say that I have felt the love of God, even beyond the Cross of Christ. That has been an unforgettable experience, and the time when I felt most loved – experiencing the love of God in real-time!

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
Hi my name is Tasharae Nicholson…I do have a middle name that begins with L, do you want to guess what that is?? Lol

I am an anchored Believer in Jesus Christ. I big up Jesus all the time, because He has thus far helped me to become a better version of myself, and make it possible for me to serve in his grace. I am a Faith Walker, who is into marketplace ministry.

An author (3x) and speaker, a mental creative curator, a certified Christian Life and Empowerment Coach. I am also a certified Publishing Coach. From time to time, I host events of my own. I engage in other capacities as my giftings and abilities allow such as emcee duties, Event planning – event assessment and evaluation. I remain in the realm of empowerment because it truly moves the needle towards becoming – becoming better – becoming the version that God created to serve in the purpose that we have been created for, and getting to that state is absolutely beautiful.

Therefore, if I can help somebody along that way, equipping them with the right support that provokes them out of stagnation and get them going in a very practical way then, yes, I count myself among those sent to help as I have had to do some overcoming of my own.

My brand right around aims to echo empowerment and transformation. Although I have three businesses, and also many other business ideas that keep flowing, I have resorted to focusing on two simultaneously; and that is, Life Coaching and Book Publishing.

It is not an easy feat to build a business, let alone two or three at the same time. So, with that I made a decision to focus on the two, and they are somewhat interrelated.

You see, the person I am now and what the Lord is calling me into, I could not have envisioned it for myself. In fact, in the early stages I ran, kicking and screaming if you will, saying “I can’t do this. This is not for me. Pick somebody else.” This was before I began to surrender daily. Surrendering to the process of my becoming and giving God my yes; it’s the OBEDIENCE that brought me here. Most of what I am now doing began with agreeing with God to write of my first book – Broken silence The Unraveling Truth (a memoir). I wrote it because God instructed me to, even though I had no clue what I was doing at the time.

Great, so let’s dive into your journey a bit more. What part of you has served its purpose and must now be released?
Gosh, some really great questions here, it was so hard to choose.

I would say that the part of me that has served its purpose, and not only “must” now be released, but I recently chose to release is my ego. The need to operate from survival and fight mode, to now resting in love and operating from that posture – a posture of love.

What have been the defining wounds of your life—and how have you healed them?
Three questions I’d like to answer, but I only get to choose one so I choose this – here we go:
What have been the defining wounds in my life—and how have I healed them?

These are some really great questions by the way. There have been so many defining wounds for me, but nothing has been wasted. These wounds comprises of:

Trauma – almost raped at gun point as a teen. Very pivotal to the commencement of my journey of faith with Christ.

Heartbreak – having to break my own heart and having had my heart broken, This helped with introspection.

Betrayal – oh this is another type of heartbreak that I often heard but was clueless of. It hurt in the moment, but I am so glad I experienced this first-hand, because the experience gives the real essence as opposed to other times as when I heard someone mentioned being betrayed. It taught the need for boundaries, and what it means to “guard our hearts.” This was another call for introspection.

O so much abuse that I am going to just bundle them (smiles) – Emotional, Spiritual and Sexual  abuse. These were a call for personal work – growth and development.

Manipulation – I experienced this one on so many levels and in different relationships, but I stayed the course and became a student of life – lifelong learner so I decided to learn of this thing. It was not an easy task but by God’s grace, I overcame.

Injustice – this one is everywhere. I fought for others more than I fought for myself, because I understood what injustice felt like. Essentially, I became an advocate even when I was faced with different injustice almost at the same time others were.

These were many to deal with, some happened simultaneously. Sometimes, I felt like the weight of these experiences were like a truck running over me. Overall, there was a lot learned about people, and relationships – even with self.

How did I heal? I involved God in every part of my processes. I invited Him in the state of my raw emotions, I cried to him, I spoke to and with him, I asked Him questions – sometimes He answered directly, at other times he sent the answer with someone else. Most of my healing came from time spent with God and the help of the Holy Spirit. It was through His guidance that I mainly healed and overcame, then with additional help from professionals like counselors, therapists and life coaches – to add my personal work and self -development. This is my exact method/path of healing.

There are still some things that I am healing from, but for the healed ones…there you have the “how” above. 

Sure, so let’s go deeper into your values and how you think. Is the public version of you the real you?
Yes!

Lol, I am as real as I get, publicly and privately. I don’t believe in pretending. I like myself very much, and I embrace who I am, so I carry myself everywhere. I just had to learn when to be tactful. I did not always like tact, because I somehow believed that it was a way of pretending, but I have shaken that faulty perception, and I’m now able to stand in who I truly am, and still employ tact.

Okay, we’ve made it essentially to the end. One last question before you go. What is the story you hope people tell about you when you’re gone?
I hope it will be a story of a young woman, who loved and obeyed God. One who had the courage to do hard, and seemingly hard things.

One who obeyed God to the very end; realizing that God was making something beautiful out of me, through all the tests and trials He allowed, and the mess I have both encountered, and made in my life. Notwithstanding, the fact that I understood grace, and that kept me going with the light of Christ, and a message of hope – letting the world know that God heals, restores and transforms

Contact Info:

• Linkedin: https://jm.linkedin.com/in/tasharae-nicholson-82159210a
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/16vFU14mje/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@JourneywithChosen
• Other: https://www.instagram.com/books_by_tasharae?igsh=MXI3NnBoaXp4dXJkaA==

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Image Credits
RT3 Media – Raeon Anderson

Jace Myrie Media – Jace Myrie