Adjust Your Focus
A Note on Releasing
Happy Friday!
It’s officially the last day of what feels like the longest month ever. But we made it! We survived the first month of 2025.
I’m not sure how this new year has unfolded for you over these past 31 days... Maybe you’re thriving, living your best life, and transforming your dreams into reality. Maybe you’re overwhelmed, struggling to catch your breath, crawling your way to your tomorrow. Or perhaps you’re somewhere in between — navigating transition, wading through the uncertainty with weak knees and quiet hope.
Wherever you are at this moment, I want to encourage you to breathe.
Inhale. Exhale.
There’s so much happening around us every day, things beyond our control and understanding. We let our minds linger on the “what ifs” and “whys.” The weight of it all can feel consuming when we fix our gaze on the boulders and mountains before us. When facing the unknown, we take on burdens in our own strength, heaping hefty loads upon our shoulders until we’re bogged down, stifled and barely moving.
But that’s not what God desires for our lives. The Maker does not want us to remain stagnant, immobile, and paralyzed due to our circumstances or bound to our feelings (which don’t determine the final outcome). He can change anything. And it’s that possibility and knowing that fosters hope and revives waning faith.
I was recently reminded of this truth after spending the bulk of the day focusing more on the situation at hand than the Author and Perfector of my faith. I had allowed my mind to linger in a place that did not nourish my soul or fuel my faith. And guess what? Dwelling on the challenge did nothing to improve the situation or provide solutions. It just robbed me of my peace and incited restlessness and anxiousness.
The following scripture in Lamentations (3:19-23) spoke to me:
I remember my affliction and my wandering,
the bitterness and the gall.
I well remember them,
and my soul is downcast within me.
Yet this I call to mind
and therefore I have hope:
Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail.
They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.
No matter what is happening in the world, or in our personal lives, this passage reminds us that God is faithful. Compassionate. And He loves us deeply. Although it does not guarantee an absence of problems, pain, or suffering, the scripture illustrates a whispered promise in affliction and anguish. A renewed hope based on God’s character and His love for us, not our own capabilities. One key takeaway: remembering God’s faithfulness and unfailing compassion when we feel consumed can shift our perspective, overshadowing the bitterness and gall. And therefore, we have hope.
So, these days, I’m learning the importance of pressing the pause button to breathe (Inhale, Exhale) and acknowledge my feelings and the facts without letting them run me. The struggle to trust and let go is real at times, but there’s reassurance in knowing we don’t have to lug around oversized baggage with feeble arms. We can ask God to help us release the weight He never designed for us to carry. And to adjust our lens to see life clearly instead of capturing and replaying moments through blurry tunnel vision.
Journal Prompt:
Is there a weight you are struggling to release? What would change if you let it go?
The Bookshelf
As a book nerd, I’m not proud to say I slacked off big time last year with reading. But it’s a new day! I joined the Goodreads Challenge on Jan. 1st, and I’m committed to reading more in 2025. That said, I read four books this month! I’m a multibook reader (typically one fiction and one nonfiction), and I knocked out the fiction books quickly.
Quick Recap
FICTION
I binged the following Freida McFadden books:
Never Lie: 5 stars (the twist was something else!! It had me sitting up at 3 a.m. with my mouth wide open… lol)
The Wife Upstairs: 4 stars (another bomb twist!)
The Coworker: This took me longer to get through than the other two. I thought I’d like it more when I read the description, but the characters were super aggy. And I don’t need to learn any more fun facts about turtles…ever.
NONFICTION
The Garden Within by Anita Phillips: I started this book last year, and I took my time to finish it. This definitely is a book to savor. I wanted to sit with each chapter and process the information. There’s so much wisdom and information that deals with emotions and matters of the heart from a faith-based perspective. I highly recommend it.
Feel free to share what’s on your current reads list. I’ll highlight some books on my February list for Black History Month in the next letter.
Have a great weekend!
