New Year, Same Focus

I’m ending 2021 the same way I started 2021: focused on the Church Girls Movement, Inc.

Now, that sounds good but I definitely got off track in February and didn’t get back on track until December after a much needed fast from my personal social media accounts. And now that the new year is around the corner, my theme for 2022 is, “New Year, Same Focus.”

It’s interesting to think about how quickly I got off track this year. I started off strong with great intentions, strategic plans, actionable goals, and effective routines. Then suddenly, I got distracted. And finally, after 10 months, I realize that I’ve been off track. So, what happened?

I started comparing my progress to others. I looked at ministries I thought were similar to the Church Girls Movement and used them as a point of reference for strategy and success. I took my eyes off my lane and veered into the lane of others.

After barely a month of doing things the way God had instructed, I started comparing my progress to others in February. It seemed they were moving faster and producing better results so I modified my strategy to match theirs. God’s way wasn’t moving as quickly as I’d hoped so I decided to help Him, despite my limited view, power, knowledge, etc. I basically told God, “Don’t worry about it, I got it.” Sis, I literally decided to override the strategy God had given me and replaced it with a strategy I created in my mind from looking at somebody’s specially curated, edited, staged social media content. It sounds real crazy in hindsight but I thought that if I did things the same way as them, I would obtain the same results. But, I didn't. In fact, I’ve never worked harder and I barely accomplished a few of goals because I was too busy trying to imitate others instead of finding joy in the plan God designed especially for me.

I’m not making the same mistake in 2022. I lost too much time, energy and creativity this year trying to follow someone else’s path to success. I went from walking with God to walking ahead of God in a matter of weeks. But thanks to the song, Cycles, by Jonathan McReynolds, I know the devil learns from my mistakes. And unfortunately for the enemy, so do I. He won’t keep me in this cycle because moving forward, I’m allowing the peace of God to pace my steps.

Here’s to a Happy New Year and falling in love with the plan God specially and carefully designed for your life!