Closing One Chapter, Beginning Another!

Hello to all who have decided once again to read my blog! I am grateful of your support and I pray that you continue to walk with me on this journey for the Lord. For those who are new to reading my blogs, I want to thank you as well for stopping through and I pray that you are led back to my site!

So this week's approach will be a little different compared to my usual transparent blogs. Wednesday, the 13th is my 22nd birthday and I wanted to reflect back on how faithful and awesome God was to me during my year of being 21. Chapter 21 was actually one of my favorite years thus far. No, not because I could legally drink lol but because I learned so much about who I was and whose I was. I also realized how God is so willing to bless you even when you don't even deserve any of His blessings. Have you ever literally sat there and just wondered why God has blessed you with whatever it was that you asked for or maybe didn't even ask Him for? That's nothing but grace and favor at its finest!

I first want to discuss some of the blessings that I’ve received during this year.

1. In April, I ran for the position of Miss Claflin University however I did not win. One of the key points of my platform was to implement a mentoring program at my university that would allow the youth in the community to be mentored or guided by college students. The whole summer after the pageant, God has been tugging on my heart about implementing the program regardless if I did not win. He reminded me that I didn’t need a position to make a difference. So with the assistance and support of my friend, Tiana, Triumph Over Tragedy was started. I didn’t think that the program would’ve been as successful as it was and is today but I’m grateful that I stepped outside of my comfort zone and trusted God’s vision. I’m appreciative of her, Deja and Bianca who are still at the institution ensuring that all of our visions for the organization become a reality.

2. One of my aspirations since I was a child was to become a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated and I’m grateful that this dream became a reality. Honestly, I went through a lot of obstacles to even be here but they only made me appreciative of the blessing once it was received. This is one of the blessings that taught me how faithful God is not only to His word but to His children. If He has promised something for your life, there is nobody or nothing that can stop you from having what He has destined for you. A lot of people may try to hinder or stop you from receiving the blessing that He has for you and sometimes it may seem like the dream isn’t attainable due to life’s circumstances. But He will always place you in a position that will allow your enemies/haters to see you but won’t reach you!

3. Second semester of my senior year was really stressful. Dealing with trying to graduate and becoming a member of AKA, honestly I barely got any sleep that whole semester. On top of that, I was the procrastination Queen (okay, I still am) lol. At my alma mater, besides completing the course work, completing and presenting a proposal or thesis is also imperative for graduating. I literally had to put together my PowerPoint presentation the day before I presented in front of the university and honors college. Then I had to set up my defense which is presenting your findings to your research advisor and committee and they will decide whether you're able or not to graduate. I waited until the last minute to do that as well lol *sigh*. Just a transparent moment: even though I took public speaking and I'm very eloquent in speaking, I’m really not a good speaker especially in front of people. When I become nervous, that feeling truly takes control and I really have a hard time speaking. But once again by God’s grace, I did successfully well on my defense. The last thing was to turn in our actual written thesis to the honors college and science department and I literally turned that in like 3 days before graduating *sighs again*. But even with all of the procrastination, I’m grateful that I was able to get everything turned in and not only that, by God’s grace everything was successfully presented.

4. I graduated from college! I think that’s a blessing in itself. Not only did I graduate from college but I graduated with honors (Cum Laude) and received my honors college pin as a biology major. Truly this was nothing but God because majoring in science isn’t a joke at all but God successfully carried me through this strenuous journey. Obtaining Cum Laude really meant the world to me because I started off my collegiate journey with a 3.25 so to be able to graduate with a 3.5 was nothing but God.

Now it’s time to discuss some of the lessons that I’ve learned over the course of this year *inserts face palm emoji* lol.

1. I learned that Satan cannot be blamed for everything that happens in our lives. Yes, he plants the seed with the negative thoughts and emotions in our minds but it’s up to us to rebuke and cast out those things out with scripture that are sent by Satan. When we feed into the thoughts that he plants in our mind, we are basically giving him power over us temporarily. It’s not always easy to immediately fight him off depending on the circumstance but I had to remember that he only attacks because He knows the calling God has over my life. He doesn’t want me to continue to seek God especially when times are really rough and thinks that is the proper time to strike. Not realizing that is the time when I’m going to seek God even harder, that’s when I’m going to praise Him even harder.

2. It's so important to have a relationship with God. I have to say that again, it's so important to have a relationship with God. I didn't realize how important it was until I entered a dark period (I have a blog on this). During that period, it simply felt like God was nowhere to be found no matter how hard I tried to find Him. In other words, though you can never lose God, it wasn't until I lost connection from Him, that I realized how essential that connection is needed in my daily life.

3. God can't order your steps, if you're afraid to take them! This is so important because faith without works is DEAD! You can believe all day that you're going to college, getting a new job, car etc but if you're not stepping out on faith to receive that blessing, you won't get it. I had to learn that as long as something is in God's will, it will happen. It may not happen when I may want it to but if God has promised it, it will come into fruition. Don't be afraid to try because in life you can never lose. You can either win or learn from the situation. Either way the purpose behind the win or what you may have learned is beneficial.

4. Don't allow what you're going through to affect how you treat others. A lot of times when we reach periods of hardships or struggles, we don't know how to share our pain with others or how to cope with them. So usually that turns into us becoming standoff-ish towards loved ones or carrying an attitude with the world. But as you get older, it's important to know that you can't blame the world for what you're going through. We all have our share of problems but how you deal with them, says a lot about who you are.

5. Don't allow the opinions of others to bother or deter you. That may sound easier said than done but this is so important. Whether you're doing good, well, bad, okay in life, people will always have something to say regarding you. Especially as a christian, people will always have an opinion regarding something of your lifestyle. But you have to remember who you're living for and that's who you answer to. You don't owe anybody any explanations regarding your life. Change because you want to and because you want to be closer to God, not because of what society says.

So I've definitely learned more lessons than this and received more blessings lol but I just wanted to share what I was led to. I learned a lot during this year and I know that many more blessings and lessons will come out of Chapter 22. I'm thankful for God, for redemption through Jesus Christ and I'm victoriously walking into Chapter 22 knowing that God is already there! See yall next time :)