The words we tell ourselves 2

by Jennifer DePriest

Each year, I select a word and Bible verse to embrace, but this year, I added a theme as well. My theme is metamorphosis. If we took a survey, the number of people that chose the word “focus” for 2020 would be predominately the same. While there have been countless jokes that surround this, I have found that 2020 hasn’t been a flop, it has, in fact, allowed me to focus on the very things that needed my attention so that a metamorphosis could take place in my life.

I have used the past 6 months to lean into my writing and work on the character development for my novel, affectionately calling this section, “Finding Sara Jayne.” People often write about different milestones in a character’s life, but when a character goes through a series of unfortunate events and lives to tell about them, writers often leave out how they got from point A to point B. What happened to them during that in between time? How did the metamorphosis actually take place? The reality can be found in the very definition of metamorphosis which, according to my friend Google, is “a change of the form or nature of a thing or person into a completely different one, by natural or supernatural means.”

When one spends 6 months in quarantine with very few trips into public, a lot of prayer and soul searching can take place. The growth can be beautiful and, at the same time, shed light on things that must go. For me, this has been clutter in my home. Clutter in terms of getting real with the need to get healthy. And, sometimes, in order for there to be monumental changes in our lives, there may be people that we need to let go. While some may view this as a sad event, what I have discovered over the past 6 months is that it can also be very freeing.

Even though this year has turned our lives upside down, it has also shown me who people truly are, because in the face of adversity, true colors tend to shine through. Part of the process of metamorphosis involves shedding people, places and things from our lives. During this process, I have also been able to focus on what it is I want to accomplish using the remainder of my time here on this earth. I wrote last month about maps, and I hope that my work can eventually serve as a map to not only help people steer clear of danger, but for them to see in the midst of it all, the good and the not so pleasant, that beautiful and incredible things can take place. Sometimes, we have to let go so we can walk into the next chapter of our life.

People always illustrate the fork in the road as having 2 possible directions, but the reality is that a fork can have more than 2 prongs. As I continue on my metamorphosis, I wait with childlike enthusiasm to see where my life will lead. As I develop my character for my novel, it is helping to use the gifts God has given me to become all I possibly can. So in the remaining months of this unprecedented year, what can you let go of so that you can run into 2021 with the enthusiasm of a child? Until next month, take care, my friends.