Women's Devo | January 2022

New Year’s Resolutions have become so cliche that many people are tempted to avoid setting goals for the new year altogether. However, I think it’s important to use January as an opportunity to reflect on the previous year and set realistic objectives for the next twelve months. It’s important for us to identify the areas of our lives (spiritual, physical, relational, financial) that need our attention and make an honest effort to be the best versions of ourselves.

As the newness of the new year wears off, I pray I am quick to remember Galatians 6:9 (NIV) where the Apostle Paul wrote, “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” This verse provides hope as it promises that “we will reap a harvest.” Unfortunately, we sometimes focus so much on what we want to change or what we want to accomplish that we forget to enjoy the journey. It becomes easy to wish your life away and ignore the daily blessings on the way to the harvest. We focus on the responsibility instead of the privilege.

While we were serving as youth pastors at Southside Church of God, Pastor Lelon Jeffers would often remind the congregation that “You will never pass this way again!” His advice always stirred me. At twenty-two years old, I found myself longing for the future - having children, advancing in the ministry, finding success as a teacher. Twenty years later, his words mean even more. While we can still pursue so many ministry and career goals, Jeremy and I cannot go back to our early years of marriage. We cannot return to the time when our children were toddlers. While I am so thankful for all the times that I did stop and appreciate the moment, I know in my heart that I could have been more thankful for the present while holding on to the promises that I knew God had in store for our future.

I have given this same advice many times over the years. I tell people praying for their soulmate to enjoy the season of singleness. I encourage couples struggling to conceive to keep disappointment from robbing precious memories from the early years of their marriages. I remind parents that the hustle and bustle of school and homework turns into the warmest memories later in life.

I’m well aware that it’s easier to give advice than it is to take it. Several times in 2021, I had to remind myself to focus on my blessings instead of the challenges I faced at the time. As our fifteen-year-old daughter, Cayden, went through three surgeries in less than ten months to repair cysts, it was very easy at times to wish that we could just put this season to rest. However, we’ve committed to not “growing weary,” and we believe that “at the proper time we will reap a harvest (of healing) if we do not give up.”

As we enter 2022, I am thankful for the Lord’s healing touch on Cayden’s life and the optimism of her physicians. I am thankful that we have fond memories of last year despite the struggles we’ve endured. I am thankful that we have the resolve to make new resolutions, knowing that a harvest is promised to those who refuse to give up. But, more than anything, I am thankful for the wisdom that enables me to understand that we’ll never pass this way again.

m  is married to Jeremy. Together, they pastor the Bridgeford Church of God in Hazlehurst. They have been in full time ministry for over twenty years; Jeremy served as Youth Pastor in Lyons (New Beginning) and Savannah (Southside) before becoming the Pastor at Willacoochee (2006 - 2011) and Townsend (2011-2017). Christy has been teaching math for twenty years and currently teaches Algebra 2 and Pre-Calculus at Jeff Davis High School. They have two children: Cayden, age 16, a sophomore and Conner, age 13, a seventh grader. In addition to teaching and ministering, Christy enjoys traveling, shopping, and reading.