Starting Over Isn’t Failure: What If God Is Redirecting You? | Ep. 409

[00:00:14] Welcome to Hustle in Faith. This podcast is dedicated to helping women who want to analyze, apply, and amplify their God-given gifts. We accomplish this by discussing topics such as business, self-improvement, health and beauty, and my random thoughts about life from a Christian perspective. I'm your host, LaTosha Johnson. Have you ever looked at your life and thought, God, I thought I'd be farther along than this? Maybe you're single, maybe you're rebuilding, maybe life hasn't gone the way you planned.

[00:00:43] Let me remind you of a truth most people won't say out loud. Your life does not start when a relationship begins, your purpose doesn't wait on a ring, and your calling doesn't need permission from anyone but God. And that's exactly why I wrote How to Live an Extraordinary Life with or Without Mr. Right. This isn't another book telling you to sit still and wait. It's a roadmap for becoming the woman God created you to be.

[00:01:09] In your joy, in your purpose, in your gifts, in your confidence, inside you're going to learn how to hear God's voice above the noise, build a life that excites you, break free from comparison and timelines, and walk boldly knowing you are already whole. You are not behind. You are not forgotten. You are becoming. Grab your copy today and let's build the extraordinary life God designed for you.

[00:01:43] So I know a lot of what I'm getting ready to say probably isn't going to be new to those of you who have been listening to the Hustle and Faith podcast for a while. But honestly, I've had a lot going on this past year. And because we're in Q3, I recently started taking a hard look at the goals that I set for myself and the progress that I've made toward accomplishing them. And I'm not going to lie. I was disappointed. Not because I didn't try. I absolutely tried.

[00:02:13] I was disappointed because there were, there were quite a few goals I didn't accomplish. And for a while, I allowed myself to feel some kind of way about falling short of my goals. But then I had to take a step back and recognize something. Life happened. Life happened. And I don't mean that as an excuse in any way, shape or form, but there were things that happened this year that were genuinely outside of my control.

[00:02:43] Financially, life happened. I experienced the longest period of unemployment that I've ever experienced before in my life. And there were unexpected challenges around where we were going to live and what was going to happen next. It was literally one battle after another, after another, after another. And I just felt like I couldn't catch a break. And when you're someone like me, somebody who loves a checklist, that can be extremely frustrating.

[00:03:12] Give me a checklist and I will go to town on that thing. Check, check, check, check, check. Right? I love the feeling of accomplishing something and being able to say, yep, done. I can cross that off the list. So when I looked at some of the goals and I realized that I couldn't, I couldn't check those boxes off. It really did have me feeling some kind of way. But then God started to show me something.

[00:03:39] I was more focused on accomplishing my goals than I was on recognizing the lessons that he was teaching me along the way. And so, you know, that really hit me because, yes, I've accomplished some of the things that I set out to do this year. But I've learned so much. I've learned so much. And there is so much more that I can unpack from this past year that I honestly don't even know where to begin.

[00:04:07] So I'm just going to share as I go. Right? So I think one of the biggest lessons that God's been trying to teach me is that, quite frankly, he's telling me, Tasha, I need you to focus less on checking the box and more on understanding what I'm trying to teach you. And here's the thing. We all have goals for ourselves. But God has goals for us, too. Right? And that's something I haven't always been so open to receiving.

[00:04:37] You know, sometimes we become so attached to the life that we've planned that we don't leave room for God to redirect us. You know, we have our timeline, our five-year plan, our vision board, and then God comes along and says, yeah, about that. And sometimes the detour isn't a detour at all. Right? Sometimes it's the direction.

[00:05:03] That has definitely been one of the biggest lessons for me, quite frankly. I've been learning to slow down more because when I look back over the last five or six years, honestly, it's been a blur. A complete blur. One thing after another. One transition after another. One challenge after another. And because things were moving so quickly, I did. I became increasingly dependent on God. Right? I prayed more.

[00:05:30] I became more intentional about seeking him before making decisions. I became more aware of whether those decisions was actually aligned with what he wanted for me. And let me be honest. There were times when I would make a decision and basically say, you know what? God's going to be okay with this. And then I would discover, oh, no, ma'am. God was not okay with that. You should have checked in. Right? Sometimes I was just essentially expecting God to bless the mess that I had already created.

[00:06:02] And, you know, I had already decided where I was going. And then I wanted God to come along for the ride. Right? And I had to learn that God doesn't exist to endorse our plans. Sometimes he redirects our plans because he sees what we cannot see. And I learned that lesson. Okay? Another lesson, which I should have already known, was that my mother knew some things.

[00:06:32] You know, she had some knowledge that, you know, I just didn't listen. So, you know, my mom had warned me about quite a few things. And honestly, I thought my way was a little bit better. And so some of those lessons, yeah, I learned them through the School of Hard Knocks because I didn't listen. And I'm going to be the first one to admit that that's on me. But perhaps, you know, one of the biggest lessons of all has been realizing that life is just one big never-ending project.

[00:07:01] It's just one project after another. Right? And if you've ever, you know, if you live your life solely based on checking things off, like a checklist lifestyle, then you're going to drive yourself crazy because life isn't check, check, check, check, check, done. One, that's not how life works at all. Right? There's going to be unexpected chapters. There's going to be delays. There's going to be things that you're going to have to start over.

[00:07:27] There's going to be things that you thought you would have accomplished by now, but you haven't. And guess what? There's nothing wrong with that. I've had to learn that starting over is not necessarily failure. Sometimes starting over is exactly what God is asking you to do. And so when I tell you in a million years, I never would have imagined starting over financially, professionally, and in so many other areas of my life. And I mean starting over.

[00:07:57] Okay? Going from a healthy savings account to having essentially nothing. Going through a major career transition, having to rebuild, having to rethink, having to literally trust God in ways that I've never had to trust him before. It's been a humbling experience. Right? But it's also given me something that I never would have had otherwise. Empathy. Empathy is the word here.

[00:08:27] Because now I can understand people differently. I can understand what it feels like to have everything look good on paper and then suddenly have life turn upside down. I understand what it feels like to have to rebuild. I understand what it feels like to have to start over. And yes, God could have taught me those lessons a completely other way. Right? So many different ways he could have done that. But this was the way he chose to teach me. And I have to trust him.

[00:08:55] And because scripture tells us to lean not on our own understanding, I'm learning what that actually looks like. I'm learning to say, God, I may not understand this, but I trust you anyway. And honestly, his way is better. Right? His way is better. Because, you know, now I'm looking at some of the blessings that have started flowing through my life. And they have reminded me that I'm on the right path. And that brings me so much joy.

[00:09:25] Because not everything is perfect. Not every problem has disappeared. But because I can finally look around and say, okay, God, I see what you're doing here. I get it now. And sometimes you have to go through adversity before you can even understand the blessing. Right? Sometimes God has to put a complete roadblock in front of you before you finally realize that the road that you were traveling on wasn't the road you were supposed to be on in the

[00:09:54] first place. And that's, you know, that brings me to exactly where I am right now. I'm starting a completely brand new chapter. I recently moved and I'm still getting everything situated. Still getting my equipment together. You can see there's nothing behind me because I need to put stuff up. But I'm extremely excited. I'm genuinely excited about what's ahead. And I keep thinking about Apostle Paul because Apostle Paul, he knew exactly where he was going. Right?

[00:10:23] He was moving full speed ahead in one direction and then God completely redirected his life. He went from persecuting Christians to becoming one of Christianity's greatest advocates. And that's a pretty significant change of direction. Right? And sometimes we look at our own lives and think this isn't supposed, you know, this isn't how my story was supposed to go. But what if the story isn't over?

[00:10:51] Again, what if the story isn't over? What if this chapter is preparing you for the next one? What if the thing that you're calling a setback is actually a setup for your destination? What if the goal that you're so disappointed that you didn't accomplish is not nearly as important as the person you became while trying to accomplish it? That's what I'm learning. Real time.

[00:11:19] The checklist is not the point. The growth is the point. The obedience is the point. The lessons are the point. The relationship with God is the point. And so sometimes, you know, the blessing truly is found in the detour. And so if you're listening to this right now and you're disappointed because your life doesn't look the way that you thought it would by this point in the year or by this point in your life, I get it.

[00:11:50] And I want to encourage you to give yourself grace. You're not behind just because your timeline has changed. Okay. You're not a failure because you had to start over. You're not disqualified because you had to take a different path. And you're certainly, you certainly, okay, don't have to have everything figured out before God can use you. Sometimes you just have to be willing to follow him into the next chapter.

[00:12:19] And so literally that's where I am right now. You know, I'm still figuring things out. I'm still rebuilding. I'm still learning. But I'm also hopeful. I'm excited. And I know that this is not the end of my story. It's a new beginning. And I'm really looking forward to taking you guys along for the journey. And so I want you to know that if you're going through something similar and if you feel like

[00:12:45] you're starting over, if you feel alone, if you need encouragement, please feel free to contact me. And I genuinely mean that. You know, I'm not just saying that because it sounds, you know, like a good thing to say at the end of a podcast episode. That's not why I'm saying that. If you need somebody to talk to, reach out. You know, let's connect. And sometimes, you know, we need most, we need to connect with folks most when we're going through a difficult season.

[00:13:13] You know, somebody who can say, I've been there. You're going to be okay. And maybe, I don't know, maybe that's a part of my new chapter too, right? Maybe everything I've gone through wasn't just for me. Maybe some of that was so that I could help somebody else too. And so I do want to take a moment to thank you for continuing to support Hustle in Faith. Thank you for your patience and grace while, you know, I've been navigating this season as well

[00:13:42] and just continuing to believe in what we're trying to build here, right? I've got some things in the works that there were programs and ideas that I wanted to launch this past summer that I just wasn't able to, but I'm not giving up on them. So I'm giving myself some grace and I'm putting them back on the calendar and working toward bringing them to life as well. Hopefully as we move into the new year, right? Because this isn't the end. This is a reset.

[00:14:10] And sometimes a reset is exactly what you need to step into the life that God's been preparing you for all along. So if you're starting over too, just remember, starting over doesn't mean you failed. Sometimes it means that God is giving you a new beginning. And I, for one, am ready to see where this next chapter takes me. So let's continue to Hustle in Faith.

[00:14:33] If this episode resonated with you, be sure to text if you're listening to the audio version or comment below and let me know where you are in your season this year. Thanks so much for listening to this episode. If you enjoy listening to Hustle & Faith and would like to support the show, please consider

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