The day that the ”Navigating the “Impossible”: A Survival Guide for Single Moms From Pregnancy Through The First Year Of Motherhood” books arrived, I went to post a picture of the day’s harvest from my garden. Usually, when I harvest vegetables, I post a picture of the harvest on social media. However, this particular day, the picture and my that day’s harvest and it meant more to me than it normally did. Normally, I post my harvest for fun and to encourage others that a home garden is totally doable, fun, and healthy. Plus, I want other single moms to see it’s a fun activity to do with kids.
But this particular day, the harvest means so much more. I started to realize how writing my book is like gardening.
- You don’t sow or reap in the same season. It’s a process and a journey. Just like seeds don’t turn into plants overnight, this book didn’t happen overnight. I started writing this book over 5 years ago and it took me about 2 years to write it. Now, it’s finally being released.
- Sometimes you make mistakes or things don’t work out as you planned. Keep planting, watering, and pulling the weeds.
- Failure to pull the weeds will choke the crop. You have to pull the weeds out of your life otherwise it’ll choke off your creativity, desire, and drive to finish. The weeds in your mind can also lead to overwhelm and quitting.
- Delay doesn’t mean the harvest won’t come or it’s too late. This year, I planted my crops late in the gardening season. Traditional wisdom said it was too late and I even doubted how much harvest I would get. However, this year was one of the best harvests I’ve had. This book was supposed to come out in 2019, but I encountered so many obstacles that I put the book down and forgot about it. However, everything works in God’s timing. Delay also doesn’t mean denial.
- Obstacles come. It’s about how you manage and navigate through the obstacles. Whatever you do, don’t quit. In addition to the delay I had obstacles in getting the book formatted that delayed the release again. But when the obstacles come, you don’t have to allow them to derail you. Find creative solutions and keep going. When the bugs (and last year the 🦌) attacked my plants, I had to figure out how to protect my crops to maximize the harvest. The same is true with your dreams and the projects/businesses God is birthing through you.
- One of the realist prayers is “Lord I believe. Help my unbelief.” When things look impossible, sometimes it’s hard to maintain faith. In those moments, acknowledge your faith is wavering, but also acknowledge the sovereign power of God who holds all things in His hands.
- Release and allow the process to be the process. Allow the journey to be the journey. Even though I doubted that my garden would reap a good harvest, I still went out to do the work and trusted there would be an increase. I had enough faith to keep showing up even though I didn’t know the outcome. I left the outcome up to God and focused on what I could control – planting, watering, and fertilizing. The same is true with the book.
- If you quit, it’s always possible to un-quit and start again. When it felt like I kept encountering obstacles, I admit that I got discouraged and decided to abandon the project. However, God eventually began to bring the book back to my remembrance to the point I couldn’t ignore it. I thought it was too late, but that’s when I realized I could un-quit and make a different decision.
- Sometimes we can get so focused on the obstacles that we miss the journey. Last year, I was so focused on eliminating the bugs in an organic way that gardening became so stressful. I literally searched the plants everyday and hand picked the bugs off. After months of this, it was hard to enjoy the garden. Even the times when I would walk through and enjoy the beauty, at times I paused to find something that needed to be fixed. I literally had to change my mindset to get to then point where I could enjoy the garden that season. Therefore, this year I focused less on the bugs and more on the garden. It made things so much better. Similarly, when I began to focus on birthing the book, the obstacles, fears, and challenges mattered less.
- Motivation only takes you so far. It’s vision that’ll carry you to the finish line. You have to know where and why you’re doing what you’re doing. You also have to know where you’re going, know the why, and the impact behind the desired outcome. This will allow you to keep going in the face of doubt, worry, fear, and obstacles.
- We don’t know the process we need to go through to in order to bear the weight of the harvest. If the roots and stem aren’t strong then they can’t withstand the weight of the fruit/veggies and the plant will fall over. If it manages to stand, the wind will blow it over. The process to write this book was so deeply personal that it challenged me to my core. It caused me to re-examine who I am and who God is. It caused me to develop deeper roots and a stronger stem/foundation so I could stand tall, own my journey, and know that my story – although not easy and at times embarrassing- will help transform someone else’s life and make their journey easier. But that takes healing and maturity which doesn’t happen overnight. Therefore, the process matters. The journey matters, and sometimes the delay is not really a delay but a necessary part to develop deep roots and a stronger foundation/stem so I could stand with bountiful and beautiful harvest to come.
To purchase a copy of ”Navigating the “Impossible”: A Survival Guide for Single Moms From Pregnancy Through The First Year Of Motherhood” head to navigatingtheimpossiblebook.com.
About Aisha
Aisha Taylor is a single mom of twins, personal financial coach, work from home entrepreneur, and author of “Navigating the ‘Impossible’: A Survival Guide for Single Moms from Pregnancy Through the First Year of Motherhood.” Aisha has been featured in ESSENCE, Jet Magazine, and Black Enterprise. She is also the Founder of FNPhenomenal (Frugal –n- Phenomenal), a movement designed to equip single moms develop the strategy to live whole, financially free, and rooted in Jesus Christ.
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