‘A’ Stands for Acknowledge

What is the Alphabet Soup Series?

From the title, can you tell I have a toddler? Alphabet soup, not the kind you eat, but the kind that helps you formulate words and sentences. I thought it might be fun to explore the alphabet from a different perspective. You may have heard, ‘A’ stands for apple or ‘A’ stands for Awesome, but today for me, ‘A’ stands for Acknowledge or Acknowledgement.

The Danger of “I”

At one point in my life, I was a single mother. Just barely out of high school and barely out of my parent’s house, I was a sophomore in college when I found out I was pregnant. And I was determined that I would not become a statistic.  You know the one that has often been publicized: poor, black, uneducated. That would NOT be me under any circumstances that I could control.  So, I worked really hard. I knew that education would be my way to success (at least financially), so I focused on school and taking care of my son. I made it my business to make the dean’s list every semester and I made sure my son had everything he needed, a safe place to live, adequate childcare, love, you know the basics. But, aside from those two things, my life was a complete mess. Most of my familial relationships were strained and I isolated myself from everyone because I was dealing with so much crap. From the outside everything looked great, but the weight of the world was on my shoulders. I truly thought and it became my mantra that it was “me and Jalen against the world.” I felt like I could not need help, I could not mess up, I had to have it all together and I carried that with me every. single. day. Occasionally, I would get to the point of absolute frustration that would lead me to cry out to God, but I did not depend on Him or acknowledge Him in my daily life. Everything I was doing, depended on me, or so I thought.

As I look back, I see how broken and mislead I was. I made plans, I had goals and I was able to accomplish pretty much everything I set my mind on. Wow 😳 look how many times I said “I”… four times in one sentence. Where was God? Did He help me? Did He give me favor? Did He give me the audacity to even think I could overcome the stereotype of a young, single mother? This is where ACKNOWLEDGEMENT comes into play.  Yes, I made plans. Yes, I accomplished my goals, but I did not do it on my own. It was not “me and Jalen against the world.” God was there the whole time. He opened doors for me, He protected me, He sustained me, He was gracious and merciful to me.

The Power of Acknowledgement

When I focused on having it all together and making sure my life was perfect or that it at least appeared to be that way, I was stressed out to the max. My body paid for it with migraines and ulcerative colitis. My mind was in constant overdrive (Overthinking) because I had to think through every possible scenario so I would know what to do if this happened, or if that happened. When I finally decided to wake up and acknowledge God, truly acknowledge Him, I was set free. Free from the burdens I imposed on myself, free to make mistakes, free to grow, free to live! No longer do I have to formulate perfect, fail-proof plans. I am now okay with admitting that I don’t have all the answers because I know when I give it to God and do things unto God, He will make my paths straight. I am confident I will fulfill the purposes of God and reach the destiny that He has planned for me. It is about acknowledging Him and thanking Him for all he has done for me. Have you ever helped someone? Most of the time, we don’t help people for something in return but we do hope that they will acknowledge us and at least say “Thank you.” Well, it’s even more important to acknowledge and thank God.

Our resumes are extensive, we have received degrees, awards, promotions, recognition and most of us are successful by the world’s standards. We can make ourselves believe that it is through our own diligence and hard work that we accomplish our plans, but as we all know, life never goes exactly the way we planned. Curve balls come in many different flavors: unexpected events, health issues, deaths, births, financial losses and gains and when those occur, how do we stay on course? I would say it is by the providence and grace of God. So instead of taking on a ‘me against the world’ posture, we can relax and trust in God. We don’t have to have it all figured out, if we just acknowledge Him in all things, He will make our paths straight! And the journey will be better than we could have ever imagined!

How do you think your life will change if you begin to acknowledge God more?