End of the Year Review: What 2020 Taught Me

Oh 2020, the year everyone loved to hate. There were so many ups and downs, untimely deaths whether pandemic related or not, a plethora of failures amongst other things. However, as I reflect on this past year, I realize that everything had to go wrong so I could get right. 

As you may know from my last post, I got saved in May of 2020. Since then I’ve been living more intentionally to serve Christ and boy has it been a wild ride. A lot of doors close but a lot of new ones opened as well. I worked, cried, tried virtual therapy, got acceptances, got denied and there were times where my fear seemed to outweigh my faith. The last four months of 2020 were just as hard and difficult as the last four months of my 2019 but what made 2020 better than all of the years prior is that I clung to my faith as best as I could. 

There were many days when I would barely have time to put aside to talk with God and have quiet time. I would literally have to talk to God when I could; whether that was in the shower, in the car on the way to work, or literally during meals when I would rather watch Netflix. I started to feel like I was disappointing God because I wasn’t spending as much time with him as I did in the Summer months. But I believe that God saw my effort and the more I realized my need for Him didn’t change, the more I tried to incorporate more of Him into my day. 

I spent the first semester of my Junior year at home and man oh man was it hard. I was fortunate enough to be promoted to President of the Black Student Alliance at my University.  Then in October, after looking for several months, God blessed me with a job at Macy’s. It seemed as though my responsibilities were piling up and I barely had time to sleep, let alone rest in Jesus. Somedays I would have to get dressed during my zoom class because I had a shift right after or I would even skip classes and pick up extra shifts because I needed the money. My grades didn’t suffer much but I had a lot of close calls. All in all, I thank God for the gracious professors I had. 

2020 taught me the value of not only hard work and discipline but the importance of leaning on Jesus. There were so many days where I couldn’t even get out of bed and log on to class because I was so tired but the Holy Spirit would push me and help me endure until the end. I knew all I had to do was make it to December and I would be alright. December was the month I finally moved back to Richmond for my second semester of Junior year and prayerfully this Summer. I worked my tail off to make sure everything was in place but more importantly than that God provided me with the provisions to not only be able to move but to live comfortably where I am. One thing about God is when He provides He definitely isn’t stingy. I am grateful to serve such a generous God that provides beyond what I need. 

There’s a scripture that I have been reciting since I was a child and I think it’s so important for any believer to remember and remind themselves of constantly. In the King James Version of the Bible, Psalms 23:1 says, “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want”. While reading my Word, I started to look up other translations. Because I’ve read that verse and passage as a child so much, I needed to know what that verse meant to me now as a young adult. In the New International Version of the Bible the verse says, “The Lord is my shepherd, I lack NOTHING”. This means because I regard my Heavenly Father as leader of my life, as the provider of my life, as the preserver of my life, and as the God over my life, I have everything that I need. Shepherds provide their flock not just with leadership but they also supply every need of each individual sheep. 2020 was a great reminder that with so much loss that I experienced, I also gained so much and I have never lacked what I needed. So I am constantly reminding myself, from 2021 and beyond, that because the God I serve is such a great leader, provider, and Father to me, I lack NOTHING and I have everything I need and then some.