Look at God

Last year I said that my 26th year of life would be my best, and I'm now 2 weeks away from celebrating my 27th birthday.

I can honestly say that I'm happy about life and I'm happy about the work I do. I've touched more lives than I've ever imagined this year, and I've connected to so many people who have positively affected me.

Surprisingly, the 2 people who are making the biggest impact on my life are my teen mentees. They remind me that I'm not too far removed from all of the stress of adolescence. They teach me new words and phrases. They've encouraged me to pray harder. I'm old enough to be their big sister, but I pray for them in the same manner that I pray for my daughter.

I never knew that I could be so concerned about our youth until I started thinking of my very own past. I remember the struggles vividly. I remember how I changed. I remember how hard my heart became. I remember how much hatred I harbored on the inside. I remember my bad attitude and my mean-spiritedness. I remember longing for someone not to judge me. I remember how much I needed an adult to discuss my issues with and how much I needed a hug.

I now realize that God was ordering my steps way back then. He has been shaping me into the very adult I once needed in my life. I now realize that as recently as this summer when God was using me to give ideas to fellow life coaches about mentoring teen boys, He was preparing me to mentor teen girls. I even told one of the life coaches to invite me to Atlanta to talk to the young men in his boys academy about consent, rape, and intimate partner violence. I didn't know I would be traveling around my own state having this same discussion with male and female high school students as part of my volunteer work.

I'm living proof that the Lord works in mysterious ways. All I can say is, "Look at God."

My new prayer is that my 27th year of life brings with it an influx of income. The way my faith is set up, I know it will happen.