The Lessons of 2017

2017 was a great and bad year for me.  For one. I learned I had an incredible strength and it certified that my family and I are blessed.

  I experienced a lot of loss this year.  Losing my mother In November is one of the hardest things I will probably endure, at least I pray it is.  I could not have imagined my life without my mother. My mom dying is the one thing that could have broken me.  But God brought my siblings and me through. He's still carrying us, and for that I'm grateful.

  

In February, I also lost my dear mother-in-law who was one of the sweetest people I knew.  These two women were the matriarchs of our families and held everyone together.  We didn't think we were prepared to live without them, but they in their infinite wisdom knew we could.  They trained their children to continue and to carry on their legacies.  In late February,  a young uninsured woman hit my car, totaling it.  I was hurt, but I experienced stiffness months later.  I received almost all we had paid for it.  My car had not depreciated as much as others. The blessing, I walked away in good health. Thank you, Jesus!

A couple of months before mom died, I suffered an attack of shingles.  Thankfully, the doctors caught it early to treat it before it damaged me.  I also lost several relatives to illness this year.  But this is what I know.  I'm strong with God. With Him in my life, I can handle anything. Though I will never understand why He took her, I know He doesn't make mistakes.  I miss her terribly and will never get over her, but I can move forward knowing I was with her every step of her illness holding her hand and comforting her.

Through it all, I learned that I have to stop and smell the roses and enjoy life.  I was working so hard and trying to be superwoman.  How much darn money did I need to make?  I had to understand that I had spent my younger days working hard, and now I can sit back and enjoy.  Don't work yourself to the grave.  People are suffering heart attacks overworking and overextending themselves.  Relax more!

Enjoy the simple things in life.  Material things can be taken away.  It is real friendships and family members that hold you down. I was blessed to have several cousins and some great friends who have helped to carry me this year.

Make sure the people who matter the most know you appreciate their love and care.  Sometimes we get so busy; we forget to thank those people who have looked after our well being.  Stop and tell them how important they are to you and how much you appreciate them.  My husband, Cedric, my daughter, and my siblings, nieces, and nephew were here for me and my mom. I'm so grateful to have them in my life.  I have told them this many times.

Finally, make entirely sure you are doing what you love, and you are working with people who support you.  The company I'm affiliated with has an executive officer who held me up this year. I was able to exceed my goals because she understood what I was going through and assure that I could work without stress.  Doing what I loved sustained me.  In that same breath, my husband handled Prioritybooks.  Thanks to everyone for all your support.

This year could have been a horrible year, but for me, I was tested, have a testimony and know that when trouble comes, with God you can survive anything. Be blessed, and I look forward to 2018 and building an even stronger relationship with God.