Happy New Year!

Happy New New Year!!

I can not believe it is 2013 already, I am still processing everything that happened in 2012! However, I thought that I would start the new year of right with a quick post about the biggest lesson I learned in 2012.

Monday (NYE) I worked 10hrs (still making up time from my Christmas vacay)! I was dead tired when I got home but just as I was about to jump in the shower and hit the sack, all I could hear was Dru's voice in my ear yelling "Do not go into 2013 with a dirty house!" So despite my pure exhaustion I managed to gather some energy to clean up. As I was cleaning my room I began to reflect on 2012 and I realized that it had been exactly one year to the day that I made the decision to move to the DMV!

2011 was year filled with the highs of highs and lows of lows. I lost my aunt in March, graduated from law school in May, studied for the bar for 2.5 months during the summer, broke up with my boyfriend in August, passed the Florida Bar in September and went into a near state of depression in October. After I came down from the high of passing the bar, I realized that I was jobless and I had bills being thrown at me from every direction. To top it off I was back in Miami which was the last place on earth I wanted to be. It seemed like everyday the enemy was attacking me every way he knew how. I had no money, bill collectors calling me and doors for jobs were being slammed in my face all at once. It was baaaaaad!! There were days that I wondered why me and all I could do was cry. But God being God showed up on a day when I was feeling real bad. I was listening to the radio or something and the words of Kirk Franklin's song Smile gave me life, literally! "I know God is working so I smile. Even though I've been here for a while, I smile." I realized that despite what I was going through God was working behind the scenes and I had no reason to feel the way I was feeling. And to put a stamp on it to let me know that it was Him ministering to me, He led me to Romans 8:28 which says "ALL things work together for the the good of those that love the Lord and are called according to his purpose!" I knew I had to trust Him at His word and believe that there was a reason that I was broke and jobless and that it was somehow serving a purpose for my future!

Still, I needed to get away from everything that reminded of what I was going through so when my big sis called and asked me to come visit I hopped on the first plane to the DMV and I spent the last three weeks of 2011 there. During my visit God showed me that I did not completely trust Him like I thought I did. He brought back to my remembrance that He placed in my spirit the desire to move to the DMV a while ago. He reminded me that I came up with every excuse as to why I couldn't go: no job, no money, too cold, too far from family etc and that I completely dismissed Him. I thank God that even when we miss Him, He still finds us. I realized that I needed to do my part in this faith walk and completely trust God, so as I got on the plane back to Miami on NYE 2011 I decided that I wasn't going to let anything or anyone stop me from pursuing my dreams. I had heard so many times that God does not give us a vision without first making provision for us to see our vision through, so I decided that the first thing I was going to do in 2012 was move to the DMV. I did not know how I was going to do it, but I knew that if it was in God's will for my life Jesus would make it happen!

Despite being completely broke I started looking for apartments. Its crazy that the first person that I contacted was the apartment I moved into. I committed to moving into an apartment not knowing how I was going to qualify and pay for it with no income. I remember everyday just praying "Lord if its your will I know that you will work it out." And he did just that. He set it up so that I did not need any income to be added to the lease, all I needed to do was pass the background check and He reminded me that I had a storage unit full of furniture in Gainesville that I could sale and use the proceeds to pay my travel expenses and my first month's rent. Although I did not make the money that I wanted to from selling my things it was enough to pay for everything I needed. I arrived in the DMV February 7, 2012, had a job interview on February 9, 2012 and started working February 16, 2012. God is Amazing!!!!!!!!

The biggest lesson I learned in 2012 was to completely trust God. Life will seldom go the way we plan it but it will always go just as God planned. Jeremiah 29:11 says "For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord. They are are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope." If we believe this, then we must trust that no matter how a situation looks and how the odds are stacked against us, ALL things will work together for our good if we love the Lord and are called according to his purpose!! I am sooo excited to see the plans that God has for me this year and I challenge you to completely trust Him in 2013!!

Tune in next time to see what else lies Beyond the Pretty!