Change – Life Lessons

It’s How You Finish

Most people in this world start out with a pretty rough patch, but I’m here to testify that it doesn’t have to end that way. As long as you’re living, your story is still being written. As long as you’re spiritually grounded, you are receiving God’s gifts. As long as God is your strength, he’ll keep fighting for your peace every day. And as long as you’re winning, God is gaining all the credit.

Your Story, God’s Glory

Whether you grew up in the projects, scattered-sites, or suburbs, everyone has a story to tell. Therefore, you can never assume someone necessarily had it better than you because of where they grew up. It’s about how they grew up.

Someone growing up in the projects may have had to duck from bullets in their bedroom. Someone growing up in the scattered-sites may have had to duck from punches while their parents were fighting. Someone who grew up in the suburbs may have had to duck from the bully at school. Nowadays, anything can happen anywhere.

Either you are motivated to change the course of your life or continue to live in your past. You only get to create one story of your life, but each chapter doesn’t have to tell the same story. Don’t let your upbringing be an excuse for failure. Use it as ammunition to keep fighting. The beauty of it all is that you’ll never have to fight alone.

Your Plight, God’s Fight

Everyone faced some trials and tribulations to get where they are today. There were times you felt like giving up but God helped you keep going. There were times when the burdens felt too heavy to carry alone, but God lent you a hand or took them away. There were times you put on your boxing gloves and swung with all your might, but God hit the target and ended the battle. That kind of peace triggers unspeakable joy!

God’s Gifts, Your Blessings

Any time you complete an important assignment, project, or goal, don’t you feel like celebrating? You might throw a party, take a trip, or simply treat yourself to a bottle of wine and relaxation. That feeling of relief is priceless! But shortly after, it’s back to the rat race as usual.

Gifts from ourselves or others are great, but the feeling isn’t everlasting. That’s why for every step you take towards any achievement, you should count it as a gift from God. When you make it to the finish line, tally up each gift and you will see the blessings unfold right before your eyes. That feeling is not only priceless – it’s breathtaking!

God’s gifts cannot be broken, destroyed, or transferred and always lead to blessings. Your partner bought you a ring, but God blessed you with a marriage. The school honored you with a scholarship, but God blessed you with an education. The bank approved your loan, but God blessed you with a home. Your significant other gave you his seed, but God blessed you with a child. Your parents gave you DNA, but God paved the way for your success!

Your Win, God’s Gain

When we finally make it to the finish line, we give God all the glory because the road trip wasn’t easy. In fact, it was filled with blood, sweat, tears, and loss for some, including setbacks, restarts, and extensions…everything but excuses. All that matters is you made it.

Now that you’ve won. God feels like his work is done for that chapter in your life. He too feels accomplished for walking you through a challenging time in your life. It is said that what is hard for us is easy for God, but I believe it’s just not as hard for God as it is for us.

While God is working overtime in your favor, the devil is busy setting up traps for you to fail, so he can win you over. That’s why some things take longer than expected. Have you ever taken a road trip that should’ve only taken eight hours but took 12 instead? Perhaps you suddenly ran into unexpected traffic, roadblocks, bad weather, a mechanical breakdown, or some other delay? What about the debt or discrepancies you had to resolve before getting approved for your mortgage loan? To my graduates, have you ever had to postpone your graduation date because life got in the way?

It’s always something, isn’t it? That something may not always be the devil though. Sometimes that something is just life happening to you or the result of having a life. No one ever said it would be easy or fair. Nonetheless, God is that someone who delivers us all. When you count your blessings, count God three times.

“From the moment you discovered who you are, troubles seemed near, and blessings seemed far. Trust the process. The sky is the limit. It’s not how you started, it’s how you finish.”

-Bianca A. McCormick-Johnson ✍🏽

Go The Extra Mile

When I take my nature walks to maintain good heart health, I always go the extra mile. The recommended 30 minute walk gets me about 1.25 miles, but the additional 30 minutes or so make me feel accomplished.

A goal is a target. Once you reach it, you have the opportunity to stop or keep going. When you stop, it means, “that’s enough”. But when you keep going, it means, “you’re up for a challenge.” What if God said, “that’s enough”, when we asked for his grace and forgiveness?

Imagine what life would be like if everyone only did the bare minimum. When the major Hurricane Katrina and Rita (2005) destroyed much of New Orleans, people went the extra mile. I can remember when we had arrived to Dallas, Texas, a total stranger walked up and handed me $40 and another took my family in his own home, while helping us find a place to stay. We were also offered to live rent-free for one full year in Oklahoma, but we declined the offer to stay close to family.

Prior to moving to Dallas, we were initially displaced to Natchez, Mississippi where we were housed and fed by my husband’s family members we had never met. We stayed there for about a week. They treated us good and didn’t want us to leave because they enjoyed our company so much. But we needed to locate our other family members.

There were many people around the world who had come to our aid – too many stories to share. But amidst all the goodness that was happening around the world, of course, many people weren’t so lucky. In fact, it was the worst time of their lives. I’m thankful that God found favor in my family because our aftermath could have been much worse. We were truly blessed. However, you couldn’t pay me to relive that moment.

Then there was the Great Flood in Baton Rouge, Louisiana in August of 2018 up until the destructive wildfires in Los Angeles, California and the dangerous tornadoes in North Texas this year. So many events happened within this timeline, such as the horrific global pandemic (2020), the unprecedented flooding in New York (2021), the deadly wildfires in Maui, Hawaii and so on – all of which people weren’t prepared for. Nevertheless, people stepped up and went the extra mile, which is the result of thoughts and prayers put into action.

Wanna make a bigger impact? Don’t wait until another natural disaster hits or some other devastating event that makes the news to go the extra mile. It’s the little things that make the biggest impression. Wash your elderly neighbor’s car or simply pull her trash cans to the curb. Offer to buy your co-worker some lunch if he can’t seem to pull away from work. If your friend is out of work, send a love donation or care package just because. If a friend is asking for donations of at least $25, why not do $30? An extra $5 won’t break the bank for what it’s worth today.

In order to gain God’s favor, you must have faith. To maintain your faith, you must filter out all the negative things you hear and focus on his word. Obedience is a blessing, not a burden. 2 Corinthians 9:6 says, “Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.” Don’t let one bad experience stop you from going the extra mile because you never know when you may benefit from someone else’s obedience.

“When life catches you off guard, you can always call on the Lord!“

-Bianca A. McCormick-Johnson ✍🏽

Do Unto Others

Are you living by the Golden Rule, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you”? Could you imagine what life would be like if everyone adhered to this simple rule?

No one can say he or she has never sinned. If so, this world would be a perfect place. If you’ve ever taken supplies home from work for personal use, you’ve sinned. If you’ve ever told a white lie, you’ve sinned. If you’ve ever remained silent about a serious situation, you’ve sinned. The list can go on and on.

Just because the impact seemed light or was indirect doesn’t make it right. Imagine if you had a business and your expenses kept increasing because employees were stealing. Imagine if someone told you a white lie that created big consequences. He asked you if his breath stinks and you said no. Now they are clowning him at work behind his back. Imagine if you needed your sibling to back you up about a false accusation another family member made. How would you feel?

What about when you betrayed someone’s trust by lying, cheating, stealing, or withholding pertinent information? There are so many different ways to betray someone, but all it takes is one bad decision. You should always think about how your actions might affect others. If your actions cause you to hurt someone, you should apologize immediately.

It’s the little things that seem trivial yet can cause the biggest arguments, especially in a shared household. Clean out your tub after you bathe or shower. Clean up your hair after you shave. Wash your dirty dishes at home and at someone else’s house. Bottom line, keep your area clean. It’s not just your responsibility. It’s also common courtesy.

In public, leave room so someone can park next to you. Don’t block anyone in. Don’t litter. Don’t urinate all over the toilet and make a mess. Have enough decency to wipe the seat, if you do. Flush the toilet. Don’t put paper products in the toilet. Don’t leave a trail of tissue or water all over the sink. Show some respect for an available restroom, for those are the reasons businesses do not make their restrooms available to the public.

In traffic, don’t be rude. Let the other driver merge. Use your blinkers and stop just cutting in front of people. Stop cruising in the left lane. It’s for passing. Don’t text and drive. Get off the phone and pay attention to the road. If it’s that important, pull over. If you’re too distracted in any way to drive defensively, you’re likely to cause an accident.

As you can see, the golden rule goes beyond just the way you treat people directly. It’s your indirect actions and personal responsibility that can make this world a better place.

“Individually, you can improve your household. Collectively, we can improve the world.”🌎

-Bianca A. McCormick-Johnson✍🏽