My Jesus Year: Part ??

Authenticity Alert: On June 27, 2023, I opened a Dove chocolate that said, "Be fearlessly authentic." If authenticity isn’t your vibe, it’s ok to keep scrolling through your feed.

If you want to continue reading but missed the genesis of my Jesus Year, start with Part 1 here.?

Have you ever done a 1,000-piece puzzle? If not, I don’t blame you! I assume most people don’t find enjoyment in analyzing different shades of green for hours on end.

Over the Christmas holiday, I bought a 1,000-piece puzzle to do with my sisters. We spent hours and hours over several days working on the puzzle, occasionally taking breaks for Christmas movies and then coming back to it with refreshed eyes. When we got to the very end, after all 999 pieces were successfully in place, we were missing the last puzzle piece.?

Writing this article was sort of like the puzzle project. Words would come to me in pieces and patches at random times over the past several weeks. As the end of my Jesus Year drew near, I started to grow more anxious about finding that last piece - the final words I wanted to say.?

In scripture, when God wants to speak to His people, He calls them to the desert. So, here I am, the night before my birthday, searching for the last puzzle piece to complete this article in Joshua Tree National Park.

No Wasted Time

When I turned 33 last February, my dear friend dubbed this my “Jesus Year” because it is estimated that’s the age of Jesus when He died. The concept of a Jesus Year is not that this would be the last year of my life, rather the point was - What if you only had one year left? How would you spend it?

I don’t know what I expected the year to look like - maybe give back a little more than usual, focus on being present, not take life for granted, and continue to live my motto No Wasted Time. It is safe to say all of that did happen, but I never expected God to use me to help others the way He did.

Over a few months, I had five friends lose their father. After the first one, I shared this article recapping my grief journey since losing my father and offering advice for young women in the same shoes. The most recent situation was so unexpected, the news instantly brought me to my knees before God. How could this happen? How can I take away their pain? In the weeks following the funeral, I’ve spent significant alone time with God asking, "What are you showing me through my friends and their loss?"

In my quality time with Him throughout the year, He revealed new wisdom. Here are some of those insights.

Revelations

1. We don’t talk about grief. Let me rephrase that - we don’t talk about grief unless we know someone else has experienced it too. We are conditioned to share the best parts of our lives like vacations and celebrations, but we conceal the challenges we all face like loss and illness. Why do we shy away from human-to-human conversations?
2. Similarly, we don't talk about Faith. The unspoken rule of keeping your Faith separate from business is in direct opposition to the cultural call for diversity and authenticity. The private messages I've received and the relationships I've built because of my willingness to share on social media have been incredible. How else do we build discipleship relationships if we're afraid to even talk about it?
3. Jesus didn’t live an easy life and I should never have expected this year would be easy. Silly me! We can never know what God has in store for us, but we should know there will be seasons of walking in the wilderness. The good news is that there will be joy in the morning! I promise, there will be light. Why do we forget He uses tough situations to make our Faith stronger?
4. I don’t fight the devil, God does. I spent so much time fighting and not seeing the ways He was working behind the scenes to move people and situations out of my path. It would've been a lot less stressful of a year if I had let God do the hard work. How can we learn to surrender to the flow of His plan and His will?
5. God always has a seat at His table. My most listened-to song on Spotify in 2023 was “To the Table” by Zach Williams. There will be times when we are denied a seat at the table for a variety of unfair reasons. Thankfully, God has one ready and waiting for me.?How often do we pull up a chair at His table?

The Final Puzzle Piece

Here’s what I’ve concluded - the big, most important revelation. My father gave me an earthly representation of the way Jesus loves me. He was forgiving when I would snap back with quick-witted nonsense, he was patient when I was determined, and he was my provider, my rock, and my protector. He rescued me more times than I could ever count.

I am grateful to have had 27 years with my father on Earth. Those years created the firm foundation of my Faith to share with my future family. Because of him, I know true unconditional love.

Peace Out 33

To celebrate the end of my Jesus Year, it was important to me to choose a place with significance. Once I learned Joshua Tree National Park is named after Joshua in the Bible (the same book we’re studying at church), it was settled - we booked Palm Springs.

As I sit here in the desert and stare at the starry night sky, I have incredible peace. The past year has been challenging, but God was working in me and through me all along. Just like the stars in the sky become more visible without the clouds of pollution, so too does the word of God come to me more clearly when I sit in silence without distraction.

Reflections

Throwback

Book Recommendations

Here is a list of Christian books I read this year and highly recommend:

• The Women of the Bible Speak: The Wisdom of 16 Women and Their Lessons for Today by Shannon Bream
• The Love Stories of the Bible Speak: Biblical Lessons on Romance, Friendship, and Faith by Shannon Bream
• The Mothers and Daughters of the Bible Speak: Lessons on Faith from Nine Biblical Families by Shannon Bream
• When the Game Is Over, It All Goes Back in the Box by John Ortberg
• How to Lead When You're Not in Charge: Leveraging Influence When You Lack Authority by Clay Scroggins
• The Meaning of Marriage: Facing the Complexities of Commitment with the Wisdom of God by Timothy Keller
• Like a River: Finding the Faith and Strength to Move Forward after Loss and Heartache by Granger Smith
• Don't Waste Your Life by John Piper
• The Sacred Search: What if It's Not about Who You Marry, but Why? by Gary Thomas
• Sacred Marriage: What If God Designed Marriage to Make Us Holy More Than to Make Us Happy? by Gary Thomas

Learn more about the Christian vision, mission, and values of the A.D. Players at the George Theatre

If you ever caught yourself wondering, “What does any of this have to do with work?” Let me tell you, it is this - your coworkers and employees are fighting battles and coping with grief behind the scenes, and you may or may not even know it. Next time you’re asking why the deliverable is late or why their mood seems off, have some Grace. Be kind and merciful, would ya?