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Meet Tamora Johnson of Make It R.I.S.E. in The City of Gardena

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Today we’d like to introduce you to Tamora Johnson.

Tamora, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I was a married woman for 14 years, and teaching what a healthy and God pleased marriage is when all of a sudden…he didn’t want the marriage anymore. No, this was not our first rodeo, but The “D” was not what I expected him to ask me for. Like any other marriage, we had our valley seasons and those days where we may not have liked each other, but we were committed to the commitment. Tina Turner asked it best…”what’s love got to do with it?” Love gets you to the alter, but what’s the glue once you leave the alter.

Having three beautiful daughters, we chose to live a life of legacy before them as the example of what marriage is…so I thought we were doing. That’s not to say that the disagreements didn’t occur but even in that, a lesson is taught.

The story is written in my book The Marriage Policies and Procedures. We were very involved in our church and both held leadership positions. Our Pastor is true to the game of “family first”, “men lead”, “wives submit”. Therefore there was no room to say that we didn’t know the expectation of what marriage was designed to do. For the most part, we did it, but there were some pieces broke, and never fixed. I was not a saint the entire marriage, and would never paint the picture like I was, however, “the D” was not an option. As a matter of fact, we agreed to remove it from the table. Of course in “heated fellowship” the last thing you/re focused on is the agreement unless you are living an intentional marriage. As I begin to become more available to what my purpose was I begin to hear very clear instructions on how to respond, reply or not. I asked my ex-husband for his approval to begin my ministry Make It R.I.S.E. Rebuild Intentionally & Strategically for Effectiveness) because it’s what God told me to do. I told him what it would entail and he was okay with it. I understood that sharing some of what we encounter in marriage could be a bit too transparent but he agreed. This all took place is 2014 and things seemed to be going pretty good. Workshops, events, meetings with couples and sometimes one on one with wives is what began to grow. I saw the vision and knew that it would take more than me saying “yes I will do it”.

Fast forward some years down the line in marriage and we get to a point where the marriage is nearing an end. In this, God gave me the release. I was never one who believed in divorce and therefore when I was clear that God was releasing me, it was quite strange, yet I was certain that it was Him. With a confident posture, I moved forward with what I was instructed to do. It was very hard indeed. Having to continue my “purpose” and seeing the involved parties of how this got started every Sunday truly tested my faith and exposed all of ME to everyone who was watching….the church and those who had been following my ministry. I didn’t have to prove who I was, but I had to show who God was. In this process, I wrote my first book. The Marriage Policies & Procedures. Go figure, a lady in the process of divorce telling others how to do marriage in a healthy way. I did…because God said so. I didn’t volunteer to do this, I was volun-told. It all makes sense now, but at the time, I felt like a fool. God told me in it all “your purpose has nothing to do with your status. Rather you’re married, single, engaged, or divorced. you must do what you were purposed to do.” That’s exactly what I did….wrote the book even in my emotions.

I am currently writing my second book, “Life After The D” and this book is for the divorced woman whose doubting her strength after divorce. The woman whose lost her individuality. The woman who is insecure. This book is being written to build the woman to remind her of her power….married or single. In writing this, I was also reminded of one of my biggest struggles of insecurities while I was married. This insecurity was my best kept secret for years. I have alopecia. Not that I needed the world to know, but I needed my husband at the time to know. I covered this up for at least five years and the more I wore that mask, the less I was able to RISE to higher levels in my marriage. I finally shared it, but it was downplayed by us both, so I never genuinely healed from it. I’m sure there’s woman that are struggling in this same area and have covered it up with wigs, weaves, hats, braids, etc. but the brokenness is what I want to address and encourage woman to be a W.R.A.P. (Woman of Wisdom, Restored by Love, Abiding in Faith, & Purposed in Power.) I have a four days series that speak to this and am looking to start a hair wrap line. The vision is not to tell woman not to wear their headpieces but to get them to a point of knowing who they are, with or without it. It’s an inside out healing process and not the outside in, coping mechanisms that we use.

As I am now DWAP (Dating With A Purpose), I find joy that I was sent a man that sees the vision, supports the vision and feeds the vision. He’s come along with me in this ride and we are now in our developing stages of our online couples discussion show called “Let’s Be Clear”. As the vision of Make It RISE is to change the view of how society defines marriage, we have to create different vehicles to get there. This vehicle has been running for four weeks now and we have had some amazing couples that have agreed to help us create and build a movement. Each couple have been given a prerequisite to be transparent, healed in the topic discussed, and available to share with desire to be someone’s unanswered question as they speak. They too must know that it’s not about them. Hence we require that the topic chosen to discuss must be one that they could possibly laugh about today.

In a nutshell, I am here to serve, share, and Kingdom Build.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It started out pretty smooth, but when the rubber hit the road, it got rough. I realized that once you say “yes”, people are watching the “yes” actions and responses. Not the side that makes mistakes or decisions that do not line up with the “yes”. I was reminded that my yes was to God and not man. Otherwise, I would have found my self attempting to make the people happy.

Please tell us about Make It R.I.S.E.
Make It R.I.S.E. is a ministry/business that has committed to changing the view of how society defined marriage as a result of their own personal experiences or what they have heard or seen that does not align with how it was truly designed. I am a healthy marriage advocate. My way of advocating began with me first being available to be transparent. I believe that my transparency is someone’s road to recovery. I have multiple vehicles that are driving me in directions that will lead them all to one destination. I found that it was most important to understand that not everyone will be at the same corner waiting for a ride. This is when I realized that different vehicles would be needed to complete the mission. I’m most proud of my integrity.

When most would have taken a seat, I continued to stand. I had to do the conscious thing and not the common thing. I had to stay conscious of what God whispered in my ear about my purpose vs my status. I had to remember that I committed to be the advocate that I needed while I was in the valley of my marriage. This is so much greater than me. I know that there are many companies, businesses, ministries, etc. out there, but I truly know that I have been gifted with an ability to spiritually see it before I physically see it and therefore I’m ahead of the game by being proactive and not reactive. Make It RISE is not for the glam, the numbers, the fame or the fortune, but we are authentic to what we have said yes too and we are doing the work to stay there, as humble as we came in.

Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
In order for me to succeed in what I am doing, I must first say “yes” to the call daily. Every morning when I wake up, I must say “yes”. I must stay humble. I must be available to hear and listen. My integrity must speak for me before I enter and definitely once I exit a room (workshops, events, one on one meeting, talkshow, etc.). I can not be judgmental. Fasting and praying to be open to hear what I’m given to give, and not ONLY my experience.

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Image Credit:
JKodd Media

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