I was inspired to write this post when I watched a sermon last month by Sarah Jakes Roberts called The End of An Era. I found her message to be very insightful and eye-opening, along with her preceptive regarding our society's views on the ending of an era. She emphasized that sometimes those seasons of stillness, frustration, and trial really challenge us to prepare for the next phase. Also, that a level of surrendering to the process and journey is needed to experience an increase in the next season.
All of the gems she dropped reminded me of my previous season when I felt impatient, frustrated, and forgotten because things weren't working out exactly the way I envisioned.
She also made a point to mention the strength in the now and how it provides an opportunity to grow, gain wisdom, and knowledge. I left this sermon reminded that my previous season was needed for me to reach my destiny.
In my blog post 5 Changes I Made During Quarantine I explained the changes I made that helped me shift my mindset. Although I took the necessary action, at times I struggled to practice what I preached. Last year I embarked on a journey to take time off to focus on myself and reflect on my career, mental, emotional, and spiritual health so I could realign myself with my purpose. Before coming to this realization, I felt like I was operating in constant survival mode and running a never-ending rat race. The outcome of ignoring my mind and body resulted in me experiencing burnout and feeling emotionally spent. Mostly because I wasn't happy with my current situation and was living life according to standards and principles that weren't my own. So, I decided to take a leap of faith try and an unconventional career path that would allow me to explore myself as well as other opportunities. In the beginning, I felt useless because I was used to attaching my value and ability to a job title, salary, organization, network, and the stability of a corporate job. Now that I didn't possess any of those things, I begin to question my worth and value. This type of negative thinking had me in a deep and dark place of self-pity, feeling unworthy, doubtful, and unmotivated. Although I put myself in this situation to exercise my strength and tap into my genius, at some point I neglected to enjoy and appreciate the journey.
Now that I have gained more clarity from periods of feeling stuck and confused, I've been able to reestablish my intentions and embark on entering into a new era of my life. This new era symbolizes execution and new beginnings. Executing my ideas and tapping into the gifts God gave me. Surrendering to the old version of myself and taking authority over my problems and not allowing limitations to stand in my way. Believing I'm more than enough even in the areas that I lack, and accept nothing less than I rightfully deserve. Understanding the key to patience is faith and making the conscious decision to choose faith over fear. I am excited about this new era of my life!
Sincerely,
The Southern New Yorker