2026 New Year Reflection

A Fresh Take

Every year, I like to reflect on my most pivotal moments. I've found the years I hold myself accountable in completing this journal exercise are the years where I experience the most healing and growth. It’s also difficult to know where you're going if you don't reflect on where you’ve been. I encourage you to join me in journaling your top 10 of 2025. 

My Top 10

10. Reflect on your bravest moment.

• Coming in HOT at number 10, I renounced my membership from alpha kappa alpha sorority and shared the news with my circle. At the time, I was very dedicated to planning sisterhoods for my former line sisters, but then the Lord revealed to me that He would like me to spend my time and energy differently. God shared with me that the Cara who pledged aka in 2014, is not the same Cara that He designed, but rather the version of myself that the darkness of the world produced in me. He lovingly began to show me the spiritual warfare I encountered over the year because of my lack of identity in Christ. I resisted God's request for about 5 months, and then finally sent a formal letter to headquarters to finalize my renouncement. In 2026, I will publicly denounce. I'm prayerfully seeking the Lord's guidance on how to share my testimony and emphasize how sisterhood the way God intended is truly beautiful.
• On November 9, I hosted my first Christian pop-up event as a pilot in the marketplace to see if other believers were interested in casual, Christ-centered events. The meet-up came together in about 3 weeks with a DJ, caterer, venue, photographer, and a room full of familiar and unfamiliar faces. It was incredibly special to see God move and just completely show out. IYKYK. The Bible verse below, along with the photos, capture it best. I'm looking forward to organizing more in the new year!​

The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the LORD lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.
Numbers 6:24-26 ESV

9. What's the best decision you've made and how has it transformed your life?
At the top of the year, I came into agreement with community in Christ and it has transformed my life for the better!

1. Women's Small Groups: A small group is a gathering of 3 or more people who are meeting for a common purpose. It creates an intimate, safe environment for conversations about life experiences and the gospel. Some small groups read books, some do  crafts or activities, and others just meet to chat. It's whatever you make it, but the key is to show up.  I participated in 2 small groups in fall 2024, and I instantly felt called to lead a small group in the spring. However, I was deeply afraid to do so and questioned if anyone would even show up. Good news! People showed up and it ended up being one of the best things I had ever experienced. Small groups are the ultimate embodiment of not gatekeeping and not walking through life alone. When you find a church home, I encourage you to make small group participation a part of your spiritual walk. 
2. Worship Dream Team: I love singing, especially in the privacy of my home, but that didn't deter the desire in my heart to be a part of a choir. I had previously joined the choir at my church in summer 2024, but had fallen off. Then Easter came around last spring, and I joined the holiday choir, which reignited my zeal. I've been singing since and it's brought so many new friendships and opportunities to experience the Lord's goodness in the lives of others. It's truly a dream team experience. 
3. New Open Doors: Since letting go of sorority life, I have seen the Lord open doors I had been praying to walk through for over 5 years. I even felt rejected in the area of friendship because I just hadn't seen the growth I thought I would see in my life. But then God showed me He wasn't done, and I began to cross paths with so many God-fearing women. To witness yesterday's prayers answered in God's perfect timing has been phenomenal because I now recognize that the character I had back then could not sustain the relationships that I'm building now. What a blessing it is to wait!

8. Wisest words of advice you've received (highly paraphrased)?

• "Nothing matters but what God said. Not what a doctor said. Not what a test result revealed. Nothing but God." - Andrea
• "The enemy would love nothing more than for you to get swept up and out of one of your very clear purposes. Come against and out of agreement with any and all of the enemy's tactics. Believe in God for true rest." - Chyna
• "You can't intercede in prayer for something you don't know." - Momma E

Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit.
James 5:16-18 ESV

7. Your greatest moment(s) of joy?
Every moment I spent with family. 

6. How have you found stillness among the chaos?
I pray a lot and read scripture. I start my day with quiet time before my Heavenly Father. As I go through my day and stressors emerge, I keep the communication open with God through short, little prayers for strength and peace.

This sounds simple, but my quiet time with the Lord is something I've had to fight for. I spent most of the year being inconsistent. It felt like I was either making excuses for not getting up in the morning or making excuses as to why I couldn't make time in the evenings. I didn't see breakthrough in my inconsistency until I confessed my need for intimacy and dependence on the Lord, which wasn't until early September.

​I also noticed that when I go through rough patches, I have to resist the temptation to distance myself from God. Disappointments, frustrations, heartaches, and trials will come and go, but God doesn't change. I have to be very intentional with incorporating quiet time into the various waves of life. It doesn't always look the same. Sometimes I have to get creative. The key for me is remembering God the way He has faithfully alawys remembered me. 
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5. Your most unexpected blessing?
As soon as I opened my hands and released control, the most unexpected prayer was answered. I look forward to sharing more about this blessing in the new year. 

4. Greatest gift that money could never buy?
I received that God is for me. On social media, I'm sure my year reads super confident and steady, but most of my year has actually been produced from a place of weakness with the Lord as my only strength. God has been my strong tower. He has seen what I can't and has stood beside me, called me by name, and told me what only He knows.

The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliver; My God, my strength, in whom I will trust; My buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower."
Psalm 18:2 KJV

But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect tin weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
2 Corinthians 12:9 ESV 

And the LORD came and stood, calling as at other times, "Samuel! Samuel!" And Samuel said, "Speak, for your servant hears."
1 Samuel 3:10 ESV

The following night the LORD stood by him and said, "Take courage, for as you have testified to the facts about me in Jerusalem, so you must testify also in Rome."
Acts 23: 11 ESV

3. How have you taken a leap of faith?
I moved in obedience more than ever before. From returning to the church I grew up in, to leading small groups, to letting go of my ridiculous timelines, I'm continuously accepting that I have complete free will, yet I am surrendering control. 

2. How has your character been strengthened? Are there any areas of development that stand out?
I'm in process of unbecoming a people pleaser, which has made me unpopular in circles where I previously was more favored. It hasn't been a pleasant journey, but the veil God removed from my eyes has been beautifully life-altering. 

In terms of development, I naturally gravitate toward coldness, anxiousness, and passive aggressiveness when I feel uncomfortable. I have to war against those tendencies in prayer because anxiousness is not a spirit the Lord has given me.

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Philipians 4:6-7 ESV

1. Choose 1-3 words to describe your intentions for 2026.

• Obedience
• Rest
• ​Unity

Are you ready?

There's nothing like starting the new year with gratitude for the 365 days now in rearview. In reality, this journaling exercise only scratches the surface of all you’ve accomplished in 2025. Here's to all the beauty that awaits you in 2026. Be encouraged! You were made for this. May the God of faithful, enduring love keep you and bless you always.