2019 vs 2025 In 2019, I stood on this stage as a 20-year-oldâone year into my walk with the Lord, but still with one foot in the world and one in Christ. I was swaying. Torn. Welcomed with open arms and told, âCome as you are.â And I did. But it took yearsâmany yearsâfor me to truly listen. To surrender. To trust Him fully. And when I finally did, everything changed. There were things spoken over me that couldâve shaped my life into a very different storyâa painful, broken one. But âthe weapons formed against me did not prosperâ (Isaiah 54:17). Curses were broken. My identity was restored. âFor I am fearfully and wonderfully madeâ (Psalm 139:14). God reminded me who I am in Him. Now, standing on the same stage, I see the difference. Not just in the photos, but in the woman Iâve become. A woman who knows who she belongs to. A woman led by grace, shaped by obedience, carried by mercy. I thank Him for taking me on this journey. For putting me in rooms and places I never dreamed I would stand. âYour gift will make room for you and bring you before great menâ (Proverbs 18:16). And even when I didnât know where I was going, He did. âThe steps of a righteous person are ordered by the Lordâ (Psalm 37:23). He has never left me. âI have been young, and now am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsakenâ (Psalm 37:25). This isnât just a testimonyâitâs a call to reflection. Lord, am I where You want me to be? Am I hearing You clearly, or am I missing what Youâve called me to do? Am I standing in the way of how You want to use me? Because Iâve had many almostsâmoments I nearly missed what He wanted to do through me. And I never want to live in âalmost.â When I enter the gates of heaven, I want it to be with a heart that responded to every call, that repented deeply, that surrendered fully, and lived in servanthood unto Him. He called me as I was, but He didnât leave me that way. I became who He always intended for me to be. âBeing confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.â â Philippians 1:6