Month: January 2022

Here’s the Kicker

Last Sunday was an epic day of NFL football for many. So many commentators said it was the best playoff games in years. One guy said he had tears in his eyes after the Kansas City and Buffalo game. Tears! Regardless of whether your team won or loss, you have to admit that the games were all out war. It seemed everybody came to play that day.

While the games were impressive overall, one thing stuck out to me across each match up. Every single game came down to one massive game-deciding play that required one of the least visible, least celebrated, and least respected positions…. the kicker! Not the quarterback, not the wide receiver, not even the running back. It came down to the kicker. The position that gets no fan fare. The position that’s highest score per play is only 3 points. The position that gets overlooked and undervalued. That is, until the time is running out and all the team needs is 3 points to head to the division championship game. All of a sudden, all eyes are on the kicker. He is the one standing between victory and defeat.

The fact that each one of the games played that day came down to the kicker blew my mind. In all of the excitement, God focused me in on that one very specific detail. But why? Here’s what I heard:

“Your time is coming. Your role is intregal to the success of those around you. You are essential. You will be required to step out of the shadows and perform on the big stage. Be ready. Prepare. And show up when the time comes.”

I firmly believe that the times when God speaks to me in the midst of all the hype, the message is never just for me. I just had ears to hear it that day. I’ve been praying more about hearing the voice of God and being still enough to hear it. He’s clearly doing His part. Now, I’m moving passed having just ears to hear but a heart to share it. I know I’m not alone on this journey. There’s others who are wondering what it all means and whether it matters to keep showing up and putting in effort. Let this be confirmation that your life is always worth the effort. Keep doing your part, keep improving, keep perfecting your craft, keep investing in yourself. There’s a team out there who needs you to show up everyday and eventually show all the way out!!

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Before You Detour

A lot of time has passed since I’ve put pen to paper like this. The past year has taken its toll on a lot of us but God reminds me in the subtle ways that no matter how much time passes, His voice is present and consistent despite our inconsistency. The other day He reminded me that my impatience and need for control is still very much an ongoing battle; leaving me officially “checked.”

It was Saturday, January 1st and I was headed to my fiancé’s home to bring him medicine and snacks as he battled COVID-19 in isolation. It was meant to be a quick trip but as I rounded the ramp there were a sea of what looked liked parked cars on the Beltway. Immediately, my brain went to predicting both the cause of the backup while simultaneously planning my exit strategy. I called my fiancé to let him know the issue and my plan to get around it that would most certainly prolong my arrival.

So I predicted that the Washington Football Team’s home game was the cause of the backup and that I would get off on the very next exit to go into the city and take another route to his house. What I did know, is that I wasn’t sitting in all that traffic no matter how long my detour took!! That was MY plan. Now here’s how it all turned out after fussing and using all that unnecessary energy.

The traffic wasn’t caused by game day traffic (should have known by the way they’ve been playing!), it was due to people rubbernecking at an accident on the side of the road just before the next exit that I was planning on taking. I sat for 10 minutes max and it was smooth sailing from there and got to his house without any delays.

As I’m about to make a fuss at the people slowing traffic by looking at a fender bender, I heard, “Stay the course.”

I immediately knew this was a lesson. Having no clue what lied ahead, I saw what appeared to be a major backup and automatically decided that I knew a better way. I couldn’t see ahead of my own vantage point, similar to how I’m unable to see what the future holds in my life. Those setbacks that I encounter that may look insurmountable have the potential to get me to second guess the direction I’ve chosen and make be get off course. God was using this as a lesson to show me that everything that looks bad isn’t always THAT bad. It could simply be a minor issue that doesn’t require any workaround whatsoever. It only requires that we be patient and wait. A setback could be a set up to get you to get off the course that’s designed to get you to your desired end. So on the first day of 2022, God set the theme for my year. No matter what it looks like, I’m staying the course and fighting every urge to make my own way.

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