Happy New Year! How 2024 Ended.

Happy New Year, family! We made it! I am grateful to each of you for supporting this newsletter and the encouraging comments, prayers, and shares. I’m praying you are enjoying a well-deserved holiday break filled with family, friends, joy, and rest.

In my last post of 2024, I am stepping on my soapbox for a minute to testify about the goodness of God! My 2024 was a year filled with extreme hills and valleys, but I’m happy to report that during the storms of life, God can give you PEACE that passes all understanding to endure every trial that comes your way. Exhibit A: my last seven months….

May – Dismissed from my AVP role at JSU; increased my time volunteering at a local food shelter.

June – Received IRB approval to begin my research

July – Research interviews and Job interviews ?

Aug – Named a finalist in three searches

Sept 23 – Became VP of Marketing and Communications at FAMU; Chapter 4 approved.

Oct – Chapter 5 approved after several rounds of edits

Nov 15 – Successfully defended my doctoral dissertation at JSU

Dec 13 – Sold my Jackson home

Dec 19 – I paid off all my student loans. During my two years in school, the interest had grown to more than $2,600.

Dec 31 – I was notified that a reimbursement check from my mortgage lender is in the mail!

God did it! I couldn’t have survived, endured, and accomplished all this without God’s grace and the angels he sent to help, motivate, and encourage me along the way! Without the proper foundation and mindset, the end of my year could have gone many ways. I could’ve allowed myself to fall into depression, lost my motivation to complete my program, worried about when and where the following job opportunity would come, etc. However, I believed everything would work out in my favor because I had FAITH. I immediately said to myself that God must need me somewhere else. I thanked God for the time to focus on my research. I thanked God for the severance pay that paid my bills. I thanked God for the consulting work that started rolling in. I stayed optimistic.

And If I did it, so can you!

So, my humble advice for 2025 is to try God. Dust off that Bible and read the book of Proverbs. Feel sorry for yourself? Volunteer around people who need a helping hand. Short on cash? Give to the poor. Pray without ceasing and join a good church that teaches the word of God. ??

Lastly, “trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.” Proverbs 3:5-6. In the end, I am overjoyed with how 2024 has concluded. It was challenging. It was a whirlwind of emotions, but it made me stronger. It forced me to build my faith. 2025 is going to have its own set of hills and valleys. However, be encouraged that, just like in 2024, WE will succeed.