A quick word for the end of this decade.

I remember one time I was sleeping on an air mattress in a horrible apartment in Decatur. I had been going to school and working at Panera again and something told me almost out loud “Get up and start climbing”. I thought for a moment that the burning bush native to that land had got me, but the next morning I put on my workout clothes, packed my Bible in my backpack, took a bottle of water and hit Stone Mountain.

I walked up until I got too scared to move, cracked open my Bible to read at random and came back down when I finished reading. I did that for a while, each day getting higher until one day I claimed making it to the top.

That day I headed up and I took a friend with me thinking that would help me overcome my intense fear of heights. I marched past the last place that I stopped the time before and felt my knees buckle. My friend at the time told me to look out at the view, and that only made things worse. The fear of not being able to see the path had me on my hands and knees crying in the wind.

Then a stranger, a woman and her walking partner, not sure how they were related saw me on her way down. My friend was telling me “We can go back, this is really high, you did a good job.” The stranger walked over, grabbed my hand looked me in the eye and said “Get up. You’re too close to the top to stop now. You’ll never forgive yourself for quitting.” At this moment, I am shook!

First, I don’t do strangers, also I don’t do heights, and then finally I hate to lose at anything.

In tears, shaking holding on to this complete stranger I get to the top, she gives me a hug and tells me God told her not to let me quit.

Nothing has been the same since that day. My lense on friendship, perseverance through adversity, and trusting God all changed for the better. Whenever I find myself at the helm of a new thing, or a climb, I remember when God sent me that lady even when I thought I had a friend. He looked at what I needed and sent me extra just to make sure I kept my promise to myself… It wasn’t even a promise to Him on some “Lord if you let me___”.

Finishing my Bible plan a day early, because I had someone send me a 30 day Shred to help me catch up where I had let life set me back, brought that back to mind. God lives inside of each of us, and He wants us to move like we trust that every single thing we need, He will provide along the way. Even when we think we’ve packed for ourselves, if we stay open to Him, He comes through. So, if you hated 2019 and it was just filled with Fragelnack & Nonsense rejoice ANYWAY… Because that may have just been God helping you pack your bag and rebuild your team for the thing you need to win later on.