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AH! Hi ;) My name is Shani Userkaf. I'm the Founder and CEO of Significance of Breath.
Yes, the elephant in the room is that I'm speaking in first person. Ironic? No, ha, very on brand.
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I've always carried a great conviction of who I am.
As a child, I'd find myself handling this conviction by cultivating my gifts and talents here and there, mainly without knowing, yet more times than not, I was running, suppressing, and ultimately hiding. One day my father asked me something about reading, and instantly I'm like...he must not know, so I looked at him and said, "Dada, I don't like to read." It was as though time stopped, not because of his reaction or response, which I'll share in a moment, but because of the conviction that this very utterance would in some way bound me. For as I spoke it, I remember experiencing the tightening within, dang near like the constipation of my mind. My dad came closer, his eyebrows furrowing a bit, and he faintly, yet firmly stated, "Shani, don't ever let anyone hear you say that." I have yet to recall what I or he said after, but I do know whether or not I said it again, I walked it.
Running became an instinct, so deeply rooted. The surface became heavier by the day that what ever needed to sprout up no longer could. In school, I would read, yet not wholeheartedly, not to learn all that there was for me to learn, to hold, to savor for remembrance. I would cheat on tests because I didn't choose to establish the necessary happenings to receive the knowledge made available to me. I remember one day in my junior year of High school, we were given "The Glass Castle" to read-and this was during COVID, so we were online. I was in my bedroom, and I remember listening to my teacher share about what he expected of us. I was filled with grief, and I still don't understand it all, yet I was tired of depriving myself of abundant life. I sat before God declaring "I'm am going to read this book." I didn't have many words, but I was willing, and Shani sho nuff did that. To this day, "The Glass Castle" is one of my all time favorite books. That choice was a pivotal step leading me into the ones I take today. And here I am, more than a decade later from that moment with my dad, learning to not run away from who I am, but to run in it.
I created Significance of Breath to display the unseen face of God through ways I've come to see him as he shines upon me in all my moments, even the ones of trackstaring in the direction I know ain't mine to take. For it's been God in the pictures, in the videos, in the graphics, in my artistry, in my creativity that when I recall, I see love. I see that no matter how dark, no matter how many times I fell, no matter the tears, no matter the hurt, no matter the shame, no matter the sin that God is in every picture, every video, every graphic, every memory with me, and that's my legacy.
Significance of Breath is an identifier of God, the signficance of breath Himself. It's a museum of His face, His promises, His children, His creations, His light, His testimonies, His word made manifest, and His love. It's taking what God has given me and capturing His face in ways we can taste with our eyes, and ears, and nose, and hands, and hearts. It's meeting people where they are and reminding them that every part of their story is worth being remembered, cherished, and shared. It's not cringy to look back and realize you have grown, it's rewarding to know God was always there, knowing one day you'll be able to look back and not just seem him, but begin to see yourself as he sees you. What a gift it is to look for God and identify him in the pixels. I cannot begin to fathom the signficance of God, first and foremost of Jesus, and His coming to earth, His dying, and His resurrection, if I don't acknowledge why He came...for me.
I have ran for a long time, and as I type this in the am of some morning, I realize my heart is regulated, my mind is sound, my fingers are flowing on the keyboard, and Shani's living.
And so, I, Shani Userkaf, welcome to Significance of Breath, where legacy is remembered, cherished, and shared begin.
For I pray as you experience my life, you will begin to see yours as it truly is. In the name of Jesus, Amen!