Volume 09, Issue 52: Finish Strong

I made it! One of my goals this year was to write and publish an article each week. I maintained the rhythm for the better part of the year, but as work got crazy and life happened, I struggled to find time to write. I am glad that even though some weeks went without a post, I managed to make up for it by ending up with the same number of articles as the number of weeks in the year!

There are successes we are all celebrating as 2019 draws to a close, but there are also failures that we need to admit and work through. This is the direction I wanted to take with this last article of the year. I wanted us to reflect on how we have faired, especially these last few weeks and months of the year to see whether we have kept up the flame even if not at its fullest. But I heard a special message at church this Sunday that inspired me to change the trajectory of this post.

Our church Deacon Caroline Wambugu preached on looking back towards the future. She said that as we look back into 2019, some of us are having “Hallelujah” moments. We had a great year - the things we anticipated actually came through. We achieved the goals we laid out for ourselves, amazing things took place for us. If that's you, you ain't seen nothing yet. Success is not a destination or an event in itself, success is successive. Don't settle for the successes of 2019, rather use them as launching pads for even greater successes to come.

On the other hand, there are some of us who are going through "mixed feelings" moments as the year draws to a close. What we hoped for didn't come to pass. We were disappointed, frustrated, let down, rejected, tearful and sad. We didn't receive the support we needed to attain our goals. All that could go wrong went wrong for us. If that's you, don't let the side shows distract you, God's plan for you is still intact.

Deacon Caroline exhorted us from the story of Joseph in the book of Genesis. Joseph was thrown into a pit, sold into slavery, and put in prison from a false accusation. But it was from prison that Joseph went to Pharaoh's court. Like Joseph, your circumstances are shaping you for your next big break. There’s hope that things will get better. We can trust God to make all things beautiful in His time.

Whether it's “Hallelujah” moments or "mixed feelings” moments that we are having as 2019 draws to a close, we can finish strong because where we are going is far much more important than where we have come from. Looking back, we can all thank God for seeing us through 2019 and position ourselves for greater things in 2020.

For His Glory,

Lillian Chebosi