Today I woke up with the song It’s A New Day by Patti LaBelle on my mind. You can read the lyrics below. Of course, I’m doing things God’s way. That’s the only lyric I would change. Doing things God’s way is what got me through 2020.
Seems my life
Is finally coming together
Feels so good
Don’t think I’ve ever been better
It’s clear to me
My future will bring
The peace I’ve been living for will be mine
Forevermore
[Chorus:]
It’s a new day
Open my eyes and the path is clearer
It’s a new day
Pushin’ ahead til my goal is nearer
It’s a new day
Spread my wings
I’m doin’ things my way
It’s a new day
Made the same mistakes
Over and again
Now it’s time
For the illusion to end
For every door that shuts
Another opens
Takin’ a chance I’m gonna win
Can’t go back where I’ve been[Bridge:]
I’m excited for the things ahead of me
I decided I can make it on my own
Embrace the good and bad
And let go of the past
I’m loving what’s inside of me
As I look back on 2020, it was a great year; one of the best years of my life because it was the culmination of breaking generational curses. I’ve written extensively about this topic specifically knowing what they are and how they show up in your life. That’s the first step. We can’t fix what we don’t face, and we can’t change something if we don’t know it exists.
After listening to Patti LaBelle, I saw a video from the talk show The Real Daytime about the fallout between Janet Hubert aka dark-skinned Aunt Viv, and Will Smith of the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. Their professional and subsequent friendship was ruined when Janet was fired from the hit TV show. Will went on to be a major star and Janet’s career went down the toilet. You can watch that video below:
Here’s what I want to say about that: when it comes to forgiveness, a topic that’s heavily discussed at the beginning of a new year; there are two sides to that coin. One side says life is short and people are dying like flies therefore we just need to go ahead and forgive. As Ebony said, “In the era of COVID…people are dropping…they’re not coming back and you never know the minute or the hour that you could be taken so I think it’s important to say how you feel, get it off your chest, and move forward.”
Well, I want to flip that to say, in the era of COVID…people are dropping…they’re not coming back and you never know the minute or the hour that you could be taken so I think it’s important to be intentional about treating each other well as we move forward. How about that? Is that an option or no?
In 2021, I want us to normalize not guilting people into forgiving others and shift our focus to treating each other well. Stop intentionally mistreating others then guilting them into forgiving you once they’ve decided to move on without you.
As Adrienne said in the video, forgiveness is for me. I can forgive you and decide to move forward without you. Reconciliation is not automatic. Don’t let anyone make you feel like you are living in unforgiveness because you’ve closed the door on certain relationships. One has nothing to do with the other. Reconciliation and forgiveness do not go hand in hand.
It’s great that Janet and Will got a chance to sit down and talk. I don’t believe that talk would’ve happened if both parties didn’t see growth and change in each other. As Janet said in the video, “I didn’t come here to have animosity. I came here to resolve cause it’s time.” That’s growth. Also, a highly-skilled therapist helped facilitate the conversation. Press play to watch the video below…
So, if there’s a wedge between you and someone and you want to mend it, make sure you see growth and change in their behavior otherwise you could be setting yourself up for more hurt. We don’t have time for more hurt in 2021.
Okay, enough of that heavy stuff and onto a lighthearted question; is your Christmas tree still up? If yes, when do you take it down? I’ve decided mine will stay up until it falls down or when I feel like taking it down. It still looks great and I still smile every time I walk past it. P.S. Wouldn’t it be crazy if it was still standing on December 25th? 🤣🤣
I posed that question to my Tweeps (Twitter People) and here’s what some said:
Yes. I’ll take it down when I can no longer stand that it’s up. That could be in a few days or a few weeks. Not sure yet.
Still up and scared to take it down. Last time I took it down, 2020 decided to get all sorts of shady. Call me a skeptic, but that ish is stayin up until I know what 2021 has up her sleeve. 🤣🤣
Taking mine down TODAY! And I’m READY! Lol
Well, that’s all I got for now. In closing, I leave you with words from today’s devotional by Joyce Meyer: “Instead of wondering, How am I going to get everything done? How am I going to figure this problem out? Ask God for his help, strength, and guidance. Trust Him to be your source.” He was my one and only reliable source in 2020 and he will remain my source in 2021 and beyond.
Something to think about…
What say you? Is your tree still up? When will you take it down? What are your thoughts on forgiveness? Share anything else you’d like in the comments.
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