It’s funny how sometimes you can look up and realize that time has flown by much faster than you expected. The seasons have changed twice over, and you find yourself in a season both new and unexpected. Things that you did not mean to put down, you now find have begun to collect dust. Wins that you gained have come and gone. You look around and wonder, “I’m not fully sure how I got here, so how do I know what’s next? What do I even do?”

The recurring answer that I have to these questions lately is this: Move Forward.

The last time I wrote a post, it was about creating room for rest, just over 2 years ago! Little did I know then, that those words ‘creating room for rest” would take shape in my life in a major way. 

While I was hosting conversations and doing my best in working through a pandemic with the rest of the world, I was becoming overwhelmed by the everyday. When I thought I’d carved out some space for rest, life squeezed in whatever possible to fill my days – layoffs at work leading to more projects, struggling to find community in a new city during the pandemic, starting hair coaching, trying to launch an AIRBNB, mental health ups and downs, and more. 

Sometimes, these moments where all I wanted was rest but could only find pressure forced me to really look inward, consider what’s important, and weigh the risks of taking new bets. I quit a job, took a new bet, saw a new victory and a dream job then after a while found myself back in the midst of more seeming setbacks. Lay offs and resets came again that seemed to place me back at square one. Random issues with my health and my community, even having my hair catch fire by a candle flame (thankfully I am ok and still have hair), piled on top of an already full plate. Life felt heavy enough to make me want to shut down completely. 

When it feels like you’ve been high and low back and forth, it can create a sense of pause and hesitancy when it comes to trying again, picking things back up that you unintentionally left off, and even accepting the end of a period with past things to close them down for good. The weight of life can feel so heavy sometimes that it feels paralyzing, and you don’t make any moves at all, almost like you’re sitting on stall. Being there myself, and honestly still in the middle, all I can say is to seek God a little more, press towards Jesus a little more (or maybe even for the first time), lean into friendships a little deeper, rest a little longer, and start to revisit the last things that peaked your purpose. Revitalize your soul, even in the midst of opposition from all sides. Double down on yourself, on your faith, bet on you one more time, and find new ways to incorporate fun while doing so.

Go back to the beginning –  the last dream, the thing left undone that you can’t get out of your brain, the parts of your jobs that you really enjoyed. Recalibrate and take the steps that you know how to take.

Move forward. 

Between the end of last year and the first half of 2023, I’ve experienced so much of the unexpected. However, I have found a closer relationship with my brother, new beautiful friendships from a lay off, better health after having various chronic ailments, a greater joy in Jesus through the strengthening of my faith as I rely on him again, true time for hobbies, a growing courage and confidence in myself, experienced provision previously unimaginable, and remembered ideas and dreams that . These things can sometimes be taken for-granted, but Zechariah 4:10 says “ For who has despised the day of the small things?…” Each small things carries us forward, giving us new wind and strength to move forward to where we ultimately belong.

Trust that God will meet you in the middle and point you towards each next step. Don’t be afraid to say good bye to things you once loved and hello to something new. (I’m saying this to you and me.)

As I start my own Move Forward journey and make room for more new and focused things, it seems surreal to write this and say that this will be my goodbye to blogging (for now). I started this space fresh out of grad school and unsure of what the world had in store but wanting to experience all that I could and share the journey, encouraging others to do the same. I leave this version of the “Wandering to Myself” space about to head into a new decade and certain that life is what I make of it. The adventure is in the journey and keeping faith in Jesus’ guidance is the only surety that I know yields joyful dividends. 

Move Forward. 

If this is your first or last time reading, thanks for coming along with me on this journey. Thanks for Wandering with Me to the best version of ourselves. Know that the journey is a life-long one, never ending but always rewarding. It has been the best of times with you, and I hope that as you reflect to move forward that you see how far you have come on this journey of life since 2019 too! 

What’s a small thing that you can appreciate today?

What’s one thing that you can pick back up and one thing that you can put down in this next season?

What’s your next step as you continue to move forward?

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While I am saying good bye to blogging, this community sparked my passion for encouraging a healthy-hair mindset for natural hair with our first Wanderers’ Corner community chat Hair Talk for Brown Girls! We can continue to grow together as I share this passion through relaunching “Your Hair Made Simple” with a podcast to follow later this fall and upcoming programs. It’s been an honor to grow with you over the years, and let’s continue to grow with each other in this new space.

Thank you for wandering with me! – Shannon the Wanderer