4 Lessons I Learned During Summer 2023

Honestly, this summer didn't feel very summery to me. It wasn’t marked by beach trips, vacations, and brunches like previous years, but it was intentional. I mourned endings, welcomed new beginnings, and found the pace that worked for me.

As I reflect on this summer season, here are four things I've been learning:

The things that are good for us do not always feel good.

For most of this year, I found myself living in the in-between. While I waited in the hallway for God to open the next door for me, some days felt like the world was spinning without me.

That said, I’ve been learning that it’s one thing to go through a hard time, but it’s another thing to make the hard time your home. Sometimes, we use adversity as an excuse to justify our inaction. But the reality is that a purposeful life requires forward motion, even if that means taking baby steps.

So, while I went through the motions, I decided to invest in myself: I took summer classes to move me a few steps closer to my degree, continued therapy, served at my church, and got in the Word. I didn’t always feel like doing these things, but present-me is so glad I did.

Your future self is worth today's investment.

People need people.

I will be the first to admit that it is really hard for me to ask for help. Somewhere along the way I started to believe that it was easier and safer to do life on my own. But this summer, I’ve been uncovering the root of that lie.

Earlier this month I had the chance to celebrate my sister-friend’s birthday over brunch, and she stirred up a powerful conversation rooted in Proverbs 27:17 that reads:

“As iron sharpens iron,

so one person sharpens another.”

We each need people to sharpen us, to cover us, to pray with us, to launch us forward. A lot of times we isolate because of past pain points. But the same walls we put up to protect us from people that mean harm, also keep out the people that want to love us.

Maybe the thing standing between you and your next level is a friend to push you over the finish line.

There is grace to start again and again and again and again.

Though this season was seasoning, one thing about me is that I never put down my pen. I wrote what I felt, despite what I felt, even if I didn’t feel led to publish it.

This summer, I put effort into reimagining my blog and revisiting the original vision: to create space for women to heal, grow, and be encouraged through honest storytelling. I am no longer hiding. I am committed to creating and sharing the beautiful truth about how God is in the business of perfecting His children through each season.

I thank God for the grace to begin again, the gift of recovery, and the courage to show up after being knocked down.

Joy really does come in the morning.

At the end of last year, I saw a TikTok of a girl who created a ‘Good Things Jar’ that she filled with notes with all her special memories during the year. I thought it was a great idea, so I created my own Good Things Jar for 2023.

Well, let's just say my jar is looking a little light (lol). A few weeks ago, however, I was talking to my younger sister about how I barely had any notes in my jar. She responded with a statement so simple yet powerful:

“Don’t worry. The jar will fill up. Good things are to come.”

Just as sure as the sun sets, it will rise again tomorrow. As cold and quiet as the winter may be, dead things will surely come back to life in the springtime. Truthfully, there were points this year where I started to doubt that God would turn things in my favor.

If you let them, tough times will try to make you forget all the times God came through for you before.

When I look back over my life, I see some barren seasons, losses, heartbreaks, and transitions. But if my memory serves me right, I also see that in each circumstance, God showed Himself to be my provider, my healer, my protector, and my comfort.

Trials will come. That’s just the way it goes. But I have evidence that my God dries eyes and restores smiles. You will rejoice again, sis. That’s a promise.

What lessons have you been learning this summer? Let me know in the comments below!

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