I think we all can agree that the past year has been anything but a smooth ride. Whether it’s been political, racial, viral or personal unrest. Have you ever watched one of those end-of-the-world movies? It’s crazy watching those crazy theatrical things happen, those movies can be quite the rollercoaster of emotions.
This past year and a bit had felt like one of those movies eh? Like one that has so many twists that you kind of lose track of the whole plot of the movie. In some of those movies disaster strikes, organizations like the military or the CDC come in and try to contain and deal with the situation. For me in the past year it has been a journey to learn how to contain and control it all. I’m sure you can relate, I mean what else can we do when every week there’s a new thing? I may have just the solution!!
Something I’ve found that has helped me be the CDC with my life, is keeping as close to God as possible. I’ve been a Christian my whole life but that journey of really diving in didn’t start until about 4-5 years ago. For me it took some heavy situations for me to really start relying on God. Which by the way I don’t recommend waiting until then, it will save you a lot of stress. But I’ve found the more I’ve included God in my life in prayer and in worship, it’s been easier to deal with things like covid, loss and tragedy. It doesn’t make it all go away but including the one who knows it all, can and will help you to contain and control, however many plot twists happen in our lives.
I was talking to my friend the other day and we were talking about the past year. And they described what this past year’s purpose was for them. And maybe you can relate to this, they said it was a year and a time of re-centering ourselves on what really matters. You come to appreciate what you do have hopefully more than what you don’t. And don’t get me wrong, I miss getting together with big groups of people, and not having to worry about wearing a mask. But when it comes down to it, what are we focusing on?
For me 2020 was pretty hard, my Dad battled terminal prostate cancer for almost 4 years and he passed away on May 16. In the last couple months in hospice I wasn’t even able to be in the same room as him. It was a lot of FaceTime calls and window visits, but as hard as the journey was; I knew God was the only one who could get me through it. And thankfully he has put people in my life and he has put people in your life to get you and I through situations just like that. Since March I’m sure your emotions have been like a roller coaster, except you can’t see where the turns and loops are.
But let’s bring this around shall we? When I was faced with that situation I had two options right? I could’ve let the weight of the situation crush me (and at times it felt that way), or turn to God so that I could conquer it and become stronger. As much as I don’t completely understand why dad had to pass away – and by the way I’m still in the process of trying to conquer it all with God – I know that his testimony and my family’s testimony can now be a light to others. And that’s not to shine glory on me or my family but so that maybe others would choose God when they face hardships. So that the next time they face a cancer diagnosis, a pandemic, a break up or even just a bad day, they would choose God to give them the strength to get through it too.
The devil would like more than anything for us to crumble and to be crushed when we are faced with the trials of life. But let’s create a new wave by being a shining light in a dark world.
Keep pushing, Keep moving forward, never give up.
