ATL

I said it before and I will say it again, testimonies are meant to be told. I can post all the scriptures in the world, a million cute memes, and sing a hundred gospel songs, but nothing compares to a testimony to help someone else along the way. People are truly encouraged when you tell them how you made it through a difficult time because they get a feeling that they can get through too. A lot of times we try to be so secretive that we forget that our main goal on Earth is to help someone else along the way. We aren’t living for ourselves if we’re Christians, we’re supposed to be disciples who lead others to Christ.

After a year in Atlanta, I surely have some testimonies of how God brought me from a mighty long way. Around this time last year, I was preparing myself for another big move to a city I’ve never lived in before. I wasn’t scared at all, but just praying that I would be in a better place financially than I was in Los Angeles. Oh how I loved (and still love) L.A., but I had to make a tough decision to get out before I started to drown. It was a true grown up decision and moving to a city I never thought I’d live in was another big girl decision. I wanted out of survival mode!

As most of you know, moving to Atlanta was nothing short of a miracle. I had so much support and blessings just fell in my lap. I was very excited to already have a job lined up and also get an apartment on my third day in Atlanta. Never once did I know that this transition would be one to make a fighter out of me. After 3 months, I was already over Atlanta. Things started to go wrong left and right. I was in shock and I did what I knew to do, I called on the Lord for help. Let me say from roughly May to November, I went through hell. But trust me when I say, the devil now knows I can take a punch and throw one too!

I won’t dwell on the bad times because I knew without a doubt that God was on my side and working on my case. I know my family and friends were completely worried about my well-being, but I refused to give up. Sometimes your faith has to be stronger than even your loved one’s doubts. That’s not to say anything bad about anyone, but sometimes it has to be between you and God. Now I wasn’t out here completely destitute, but I surely wasn’t living my best life. My goal is to always live and not just survive. And suddenly God turned it around for my good after a lot of pruning and preparing. It wasn’t easy, but was surely necessary.

One thing I can say is that my church really gives me nuggets of wisdom to help me along the way. Bishop Willis recently said something that was powerful as I was working on this blog. He said, sometimes you have to rest in God’s presence before you get to deliverance. That’s some mature Christian thinking because everyone wants the blessing without a test. I have come to realize it’s not about me, but about the mission God has for me. With that, I also need a better attitude about Atlanta. Life is all about what you make it. It’s not about location a lot of times, but where you are mentally. For 2022, I want to have real peace in knowing my work is not in vain. Pray my strength in the Lord.