Hey guys! Happy Wednesday and welcome to today’s post!
With 2021 coming to an end, we ought to reflect on the year that has been and see the lessons that we can take with us going forward, here are some of mine :);
1. Know The Word
And by word, I mean the Bible, the word of God. If you’re a Christian, the word of God is your guideline for life, it is what renews your mind as you constantly study and meditate on it. This year in my walk with God, I realized the importance of not only reading but studying the word of God, and knowing what God says about this and that.
This year, I have taken responsibility for my walk with God, more than I ever have. This doesn’t mean that I am doing it on my own, I have the Holy Spirit who works in me and even fellow believers with whom we fellowship and hold conversation on such matters.
As you grow in maturity in Christ, just like a child hits their milestones. From drinking milk, to solid foods, it’s kind of like that in the Christian walk, as you move from faith to faith, you become more and more mature, your mind becomes more and more renewed, you become more and more in tune with the Holy Spirit, so you’re able to digest more scripture that you hadn’t understood in the past. You can’t always expect your pastor, leader or teacher to do everything for you, part of maturing means trusting that the same Holy Spirit that dwells in them, dwells in you too as a believer and will open the eyes of your understanding to grasp what a particular scripture means.
What prompted me to be keener in the word? It was quite sad finding out that some of the things I thought about some aspects of Christianity aren’t based on the word, but was someone’s opinion or their own personal conviction. And y’all I was so sure of some of these things, finding out that it wasn’t based on the Word of God was heartbreaking and hard to hear, but it’s part of growth and I’m loving the process.
Also, just so you know, there are plenty of false teachers out there who have deceived people and taken advantage of their ignorance. Nobody is perfect or gets it right all the time, that’s true, but some deliberately twist the word of God to fulfill their own agendas, which is sad, and God’s gonna deal with them.
As for you, don’t fall for those schemes, trust God to protect and preserve you from such , trust the Holy Spirit to reveal to you the truth and be diligent in getting into God’s word as often as you can :).
2. Be grateful especially for life
For me, 2021 was the year of gratitude and excellence.
Gratitude, in that I would be more keen in being grateful for the big things and even the small things, and excellence meaning I would do my best in everything I was supposed to do, with what I had at the moment.
Focusing on gratitude, in times like these, especially with the pandemic, we really never know what’s going to happen tomorrow or even in the next moment. The fact that you’re alive, breathing and reading this is a miracle and shows the majesty of our creator. We really never know how much time we have left before we’re gone, so be grateful with what you have like life and good health, and the people in your life who love and support you. There are people who were once in my life, as young as me, or even younger, who suddenly passed on. Such moments are shocking and heartbreaking, and in the midst of grief, I learnt to be thankful for the time we had, and the memories we shared, even when I don’t understand.
It’s a nice reminder to yourself when you want to complain. Start saying thank you more, open up your eyes to the blessings that God has given you, start writing down the things you’re grateful for, it’s such a game changer :)
3. God ALWAYS has your back so trust Him
I think this is a lesson that we have to learn over and over again lol. Ever had something planned so meticulously in your head, done everything possible to make it happen, prayed hard but it just doesn’t work out? Me too.
Well, one thing I’ve realized about God is that He is eternally correct and He is NEVER wrong. His thoughts are not our thoughts, His ways aren’t our ways. To Him, a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years is like a day (see 2nd Peter 3:8). I’m still trying to get my mind to wrap around that lol.
God knew you even before you were formed in your mother’s womb, He knows everything about you and what’s going to happen in the future, why not trust Him even when things don’t work out?
It takes time to grow into it, but the more you practice it, the more it becomes a part of you. God loves you and always has your back, always.
4. Open yourself to newness
I’ve heard a saying that goes like, ‘one of the guarantees in this life is impermanence.’ In other words, things will always change. I’m one who, when things are perfect and I’m comfortable, I don’t want anyone messing with that lol, I just want things to stay the way they are. But, this year I have learnt to embrace change and newness, even embrace myself in my evolving and changing. There are some things that I don’t do anymore, from daily habits and mindsets, because I have changed and evolved. It’s hard to embrace newness because you miss the old version of yourself or of ’how things used to be’, but embrace and own it. That's how you grow
5. Go outside
This is a random one, but yea, step out a little from your house. To my fellow introverts, I get you, I love being indoors, and I don’t see the point of going out with no particular agenda, but please please step out of your house as constantly as you can.
In this age of working and schooling remotely, we’re more isolated than ever, which may not be the healthiest thing in the long term. So, step out for a walk, sit outside for some time and bask in the sun, go do a fun outdoor activity like swimming or hiking. You’ll feel so much better and maybe make new friends. Go out and enjoy God’s creation!
6. Do the things you’re scared of
Lastly, see that thing you’ve been putting off from doing for a long time because of fear? Do it. The only way to kill that fear, is actually doing that thing you’re scared of. The people you would deem as courageous or ‘fearless’ may not be as you think they are, like they aren’t scared of anything, they probably are, but they do what they do anyway.
Start with the small stuff and soon you’ll build up to the big stuff.
Using myself as an example, I used to be scared of being open on social media, especially Instagram, but these days I use it more often than ever and I’m more open on there than ever before, plus I was also scared of starting my blog, but here we are hehe.
That thing you’re scared of could actually completely transform your life, the first thing you need to do is start and you’ll figure out the rest as you continue. :)
That’s all for me, in terms of the lessons I’m taking with me from this year and going forward with them. How about you? What lessons from 2021 are you taking with you? Feel free to leave them down in the comments, via email or on the socials.
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Xoxo.
BK.
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