Steps of Faith

Happy almost 2021, friend! Whew! What a year. It was crazy hard to say the least, but we made it!!! Praise the Lord! At the end of 2019, the Lord kindly spoke to me that my word for the year of 2020 was going to be FAITH. Years prior, I always tried to have a word for the year but had often forgot by the time February hit. This year was different, and I’m so grateful! The word faith has forever changed me. Looking back at the beginning of 2020 to now, I can truly say that I am a changed person. The Lord used the word faith to mold and strengthen me in ways I didn’t even know that I needed. He took me on a challenging and exhilarating faith journey, and I’m excited to share it with you and encourage you as you prepare for 2021.

At the end of 2019, I began to recognize that I was extremely fearful. Fear was beginning to paralyze me from living the life God’s called me to and embracing who He’s created me to be. 2 Timothy 1:7 says, “For God has not given me a spirit of fear but of power, love, and a sound mind.” I wanted this verse to be true for my life. I asked the Lord what He wanted to give me in the new year, and He said freedom from fear through faith. Faith is a gift from God that destroys fear. And then, He gave me a brilliant idea! I love it when He does this! The Lord showed me that He wanted me to take a step of faith every month of the year and put faith into action. Each month, I asked the Lord the step of faith He wanted me to take. Some months, He quickly showed me and others He slowly revealed. Most of my steps of faith were something that I was super fearful of doing. A quote that encouraged me on my faith journey by Mark Twain says, “Do the thing you fear the most and the death of fear is certain.” Twain’s words became a reality for me and with each step of faith, fear began breaking off of me.

January

Of course, 2020 began with a giant leap of faith. Little did I know how much I would need faith, right at the start of 2020. The Lord made it evident that He was leading me into a new season. Through His guidance, I left my job and began Grad School. This is something I NEVER saw coming. When I graduated from A&M, I quickly shared with Daniel that this was the last graduation I would ever have. Well, never say never. Ha! I had prayerfully considered getting my masters in counseling for some time and this step of faith surprised me. I realized that the Lord was taking me on a ride that was going to grow and stretch me.

February

My step of faith for February was something that I had been so fearful of doing but something I really wanted to do! For many years, I wanted to get a nose ring. I thought they were so cute but didn’t let myself get one out of fear of what people would think and who would and would not approve. When I I got my nose pierced, I truly felt people-pleasing dissipate. Approval from others had controlled many of my decisions and as little as it may seem, doing this freed me in so many ways!

March

In the month of March, the step the Lord was leading me to take was to launch my blog! Honestly, I was SO fearful of doing this. The Lord had been prompting me to start blogging for years, and I kept putting it off. I felt that my words weren’t valuable or needed and I was afraid of what others would think of me. I can’t tell you how scared I was to do this, and still am at times, but it was so freeing to take this step of faith and step into obedience and trust the Lord’s leading. And it has been so fun! Is there something the Lord has asked you to do that you keep putting off? I bless you with faith to do it! Obedience leads to provision, and He will provide all of your needs when you step into His leading.

April

Although my steps of faith were scary, they had been somewhat fun! When I asked the Lord what step He wanted me to take in April, a looming conversation came to mind, and I knew I had to have it. I had been putting off a hard conversation with a dear friend. Instead of waiting until the end of the month, I had this conversation as soon as I could. Afterward, I felt so much lighter. The conversation went better than I could have dreamed, and the Lord brought so much peace to my heart. I have learned that when the Lord leads us into something that may seem scary, He provides just what we need.

May

In the month of May, the Lord highlighted my phone. I was learning and reading about the effects our phones have on us and began noticing anxiety tied to my phone. The Lord led me to take a step of faith that was different, but very important in my faith journey. This step of faith was to turn off my phone daily for one hour and once a week for twenty-four hours. In this time that my phone was off, I had to trust the Lord with the people in my life and their needs. This faith step was difficult but so rewarding! I loved the freedom I felt when my phone was turned off, and I actually began to enjoy the opportunity to detach and make myself unavailable. So much of what we do these days is tied to our phones, and it is powerful to take a step back and give ourselves a break.

June

This one is really sweet! First, a little background for you! I had struggled with Chronic Fatigue for a few years. It’s hard to describe Chronic Fatigue and many don’t understand it. The best way I can describe it is being exhausted all of the time no matter how much sleep and rest you get. I also had constant pain throughout my body. I plan to share more about my experience with Chronic Fatigue as it deeply impacted my life, but I’m excited to share that God HEALED ME of Chronic Fatigue!! I am SO grateful!! In 2019, the Lord gave me an incredible Functional Doctor who helped me begin healing my body. Through this process and the Lord, my body began healing. Although I was daily getting a little better, there was still a constant fatigue looming over me. A sweet gift from the Lord is a scripture from Mark that the Lord highlighted to me at the beginning of my faith journey. At the start of 2020, I was deeply desiring healing and on an extremely strict diet to heal my body. The Lord gave me Mark 5:34 which says, “Daughter your faith has made you well, go and be healed of your disease!” I placed this verse on my mirror and clung to it as I desired healing and pursued faith. I really believe the steps of faith that the Lord was having me take were a part of my healing as well. One night, Daniel and I worshipped and prayed in our home together. Daniel prayed daily for the Lord to heal me as he saw how much it impacted my life. This specific night, He prayed with fresh faith and God kindly and miraculously healed my body!!! I felt the Lord and knew I was healed. From that moment on, the extreme fatigue and pain were gone! My step of faith for June was to believe the Lord healed me! Chronic Fatigue is an interesting illness because it is not visible to most people. To see someone healed of a broken leg is incredible and clear, but my healing was something I had to press in and believe Him for!

July

For the month of July, God showed me to not get on social media. I had taken breaks before, but it was clear that this was the step of faith I needed to take. I have a love/hate relationship with social media. I’m sure you can relate. At times it is fun and exciting, and at other times it is a deep hole that sucks me into comparison and leaves me feeling less than. Removing social media from my life for a month brought deep peace and was a breath of fresh air!

August

As many experienced, 2020 was filled with deep heartache and pain. In August, God invited me to trust Him with people in my life that I love dearly. There were many unknowns at this time, and I was overcome by fear and worry for them. God encouraged me to lay these precious people at His feet through surrendering prayer. He’s really trustworthy, and He takes even better care than we ever could of the people we hold dearest!

September

In September, God encouraged me to believe Him for something big! I won’t share here because it still hasn’t happened and that’s okay. I felt Him lead me to ask Him and I am still choosing to believe. Sometimes God invites us to have faith without knowing when the outcome will come.

October

For the month of October, my step of faith was to stay the night alone. This was something that I had been dreading but knew I needed to do on my faith journey. Living in the same town as family, I had never stayed in our home alone. When Daniel would go out of town, I’d take the opportunity to stay with family and avoid the fear of staying alone. I was so scared to do this but the Lord helped me, and I did it! This was a huge victory for me!

November

My step of faith for November was anything but fun. It was to forgive. I have been through seasons of deep forgiveness, but forgiveness seemed to be something that was never ending. While it is hard to know if forgiveness is complete or not, God encouraged me to make the choice to forgive. I learned that forgiveness includes refraining and repentance. Refraining from speaking negatively and repenting from unforgiveness. Thankfully, the Lord is so patient with me. While I am not where I want to be, I have chosen to release the bitterness and truly forgive.

December

And lastly, for the month of December, my final step of faith for the year has been to have Faith in God. This journey has uprooted so much and there are still things left undone, but I’m grateful for the Lord’s patience in this continual process of refinement. He is fully trustworthy with all things in my life.

Thank you for letting me share my journey with you! It is so precious to me, and I am truly a new person! As you look at 2021, I encourage you to ask the Lord for a word for the year. And then, ask Him each month how you can put your word into action! This made my word for the year come to life in a way that I could have never dreamed. I am forever changed by these steps of faith. Maybe your word for the year is rest. Each month, ask the Lord how you can rest and do it! Or, your word might be trust. Every month, ask the Lord how you can activate trust in your life. I can tend to procrastinate with areas of my life that don’t have deadlines. Having a step of faith every month gave me a deadline and forced me to move and take action. There were many months that I waited until the last day of the month to do it, but I did it! I am excited to take steps each month of 2021 with my new word for the year!

A phrase that is hanging above my desk says, “Don’t go for perfection, just go for better than before.” You can do it!

My prayer for 2021: “You crown the year with Your bounty; Your wagon tracks overflow with abundance. The pastures of the wilderness overflow, the hills gird themselves with joy, the meadows clothe themselves with flocks, the valleys deck themselves with grain, they shout and sing together for joy.” Psalm 65:11-13. The pain and grief has cleared the way for new growth and deeper depths of joy!

I bless you in this new year and ask God to give you direction through His precious leading! Have a wonderful 2021, beautiful friend!