Trust the Process | 2014 In Review
.... Is it 2015 already?
Here I am at the precipice of a new year so excited for what it has to offer.
As I think about 2014, I must admit, it's been quite a whirlwind. Graduation, relocation, hesitation and frustration are all words that probably best sum it up. However this isn’t a something I'm looking down on. This year taught me much about God, faith, timing, and redirection. And that’s one story I just have to tell.
I can recall it like it was yesterday. Early in the month of January of 2014, I was preparing heavily to apply to several of the top Ph.D. programs and seminaries in the country in my grand elaborate plan to become the next Cornel West. Lol.
As I was preparing to work on one of my personal statements that particular morning, I stopped immediately when I overheard a voice tell me to “rest”. Looking around to see who or what it could have been, I saw that no one else was in the room. “Rest" the voice said again. “But rest from what?" I thought. Knowing that this voice was probably God giving me direction for a transition this year, I ran to my Bible.
"And he said, “My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”- Exodus 33:14
Still out of shock, I was confused. Why would the man up stairs tell me to discontinue the next step in my academic career for no plan at all – especially one with an interest in studying the Christian Faith and the Black Church more closely? But then it became clear to me that I would have no say in the matter.
Soon after, as I was preparing my Doctoral applications,my laptop (out of nowhere) got a serious virus that completely shut down the entire computer. (Yes, this virus was that bad).This was the exact laptop that had every one of the supplemental materials the Ph.D. programs on its hard drive, which prevented me from getting my applications in anywhere on time.
Taking this as a divine sign, I knew God was yet again trying to get my attention, so I forewent applying to programs, and decided to begin resting in what God had told me. Frankly, the hardest decision ever. It was soon after that was when things started to get interesting
“Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way..”- Psalm 37
As I began to rest (both spiritually and naturally) from working to sort out the future, my radio show, The Corner, was on the rise and became one of the most successful new student radio shows at Temple. So much to the point, the one-hour entertainment radio show was invited by the White House to cover President Barack Obama in NYC.
Dumbfounded as to the timing of the events and The White House knowing who I was, I still found myself worrying about the future – What about my career? Where am I going to live? etc. As I hit a few bumps trying to rest, it was then when one of my mentors gave me some of the best advice I would've gotten that year.
"Tyree, simply trust the process".
After revealing to her my frustration about the uncertainty of the future, she dropped a bombshell: "Tyree, simply trust the process." “What’s trusting the process?", I asked. "Trusting the process is having an unwavering confidence in the positive outcome that God has destined for you", she said. "It’s resting in what God's already told you."
Taking this as another affirmation, I used it to steam roll my comprehensive exams, an academic Journal I edited for, and finally to arrive to my Graduation and to receive my Master's. However, after leaving Philadelphia and going back to Los Angeles, I would soon learn that this ‘trusting the process’ thing was going to be a lot more difficult than what I'd anticipated for...