Some Things Didn’t Fail. They Finished.

Hello, September. 🍂

The ninth month.

Nine months into a year that some of us entered with plans, prayers, vision boards, declarations, expectations, and a whole list of things we just knew GOD was going to do.

And now here we are.

September.

Far enough into the year to look back.

Still enough year left to look forward.

But maybe before we do either, we need to look at what has ended.

Because somewhere along the way, we started believing that if something ended, it must have failed.

If the relationship ended, we failed.

If the friendship changed, somebody must have done something wrong.

If the business idea didn’t become what we imagined, we wasted our time.

If the opportunity disappeared, we missed our chance.

If the version of ourselves that once worked no longer fits, something must be wrong with us.

But what if we have been grieving some things that aren’t dead?

They’re complete.

There is a difference.

Some things didn’t fail.

They finished.

And whew…

I don’t know about YOU, but sometimes I have a hard time leaving well enough alone.

Because when I’ve prayed for something, poured into something, fought for something, invested time into something, cried over something, believed GOD for something…

I want it to work.

Chile, after everything I put into this?!

Surely we’re not just going to END here.

So I try again.

Water it again.

Pray about it again.

Rework it.

Reword it.

Rebuild it.

Give another chance.

Make another excuse.

Maybe if I approach it differently.

Maybe if I give it more time.

Maybe if I change.

Maybe if they change.

Maybe GOD will breathe life back into it.

And sometimes He does.

But sometimes we’re asking GOD to resurrect something He never told us to keep carrying.

That’s the part we don’t talk about enough.

Because faith isn’t always believing something will stay.

Sometimes faith is trusting GOD enough to let it go.

What If Nothing Went Wrong?

Sit with that.

What if the season simply did what it came to do?

What if that friendship was supposed to carry YOU through that chapter but wasn’t assigned to the whole book?

What if that opportunity wasn’t the destination but the classroom?

What if that closed door didn’t mean YOU weren’t qualified?

What if YOU needed to stand in that room long enough to learn what YOU would need for the room coming next?

What if the version of YOU that survived the last season isn’t supposed to lead the next one?

We have a habit of measuring success by longevity.

How long did it last?

How long have y’all been together?

How many years have you been doing it?

How long have you worked there?

How long has the business been open?

Longevity can be beautiful.

Commitment matters.

Consistency matters.

But long does not automatically mean right.

And short does not automatically mean insignificant.

Some of the most important experiences of our lives weren’t permanent.

They were purposeful.

That’s different.

But Completion Can Hurt

Let’s not make releasing things sound cute.

Some endings hurt like hell.

Even when YOU know it’s time.

Even when GOD has been showing YOU.

Even when the peace left before YOU did.

Even when deep down YOU already knew.

There can still be grief attached to obedience.

You can know something is over and still miss it.

You can know someone isn’t supposed to continue with YOU and still love them.

You can be grateful for what something gave YOU and still know YOU can’t go back.

You can understand why a door closed and still wish it hadn’t.

Acceptance doesn’t erase attachment.

And that’s where some of us get stuck.

We mistake missing something for being meant to return to it.

Read that again.

Missing it doesn’t mean YOU’re supposed to go back.

Sometimes YOU’re simply experiencing the very human ache of releasing something that mattered.

Let it matter.

Let it have been beautiful.

Let it have taught YOU.

Let it have hurt.

Let it have changed YOU.

And then, when its assignment is complete…

let it finish.

Nine Months In…What Has Grown?

September is the ninth month, and nine carries some interesting biblical connections.

I don’t want to turn numbers into something Scripture doesn’t explicitly say. The Bible doesn’t hand us a chart declaring that every appearance of nine means completion.

But there is something worth noticing here.

Galatians 5:22–23 gives us nine expressions of the fruit of the Spirit:

Love.

Joy.

Peace.

Patience.

Kindness.

Goodness.

Faithfulness.

Gentleness.

Self-control.

And that makes me wonder if September’s better question isn’t:

What am I getting?

Maybe it’s:

What has been growing in me?

Because we spend a whole lot of time asking GOD what He’s going to give us next.

The house.

The relationship.

The money.

The opportunity.

The healing.

The breakthrough.

The business.

The answer.

The platform.

The next level.

GOD, what’s next?!

Meanwhile, maybe He’s asking:

Before we talk about next…what did YOU do with what I grew in YOU here?

Did the disappointment grow patience?

Did the heartbreak teach YOU how to love without abandoning yourself?

Did uncertainty strengthen your faithfulness?

Did having every reason to crash out teach YOU self-control?

Did the season where nothing moved teach YOU peace that wasn’t dependent on circumstances?

Did being mishandled teach YOU that kindness doesn’t require becoming a doormat?

Did waiting change the way YOU trust GOD?

Because maybe the evidence that the season was successful isn’t that YOU got everything YOU asked for.

Maybe it’s that YOU didn’t leave it the same person who entered it.

That’s fruit too.

You Can’t Carry Everything Into What’s Next

Here’s where September gets uncomfortable.

Everybody wants new.

New month.

New season.

New opportunities.

New relationships.

New money.

New doors.

New beginnings.

Okay.

But where are YOU putting it?

Because some of us have both hands full of yesterday while asking GOD for tomorrow.

We’re carrying resentment from what happened.

Expectations that never materialized.

Relationships we know have expired.

Old identities.

Old habits.

Old guilt.

Old versions of ourselves.

Old definitions of success.

Old promises people made that we’re still waiting for them to keep.

And we’re standing there saying:

GOD, I’m ready.

Are we?

Because being excited about what’s next and being available for what’s next are two completely different things.

Sometimes preparation doesn’t look like adding.

It looks like releasing.

Sometimes GOD isn’t asking YOU to do more.

He’s asking:

What are YOU finally willing to put down?

September Doesn’t Need All of Yesterday

So no, I’m not entering September pretending everything before it was beautiful.

Some of it wasn’t.

Some things I would have done differently.

Some things I wish hadn’t happened.

Some prayers didn’t get the answer I wanted.

Some people disappointed me.

I disappointed myself.

Some things took too long.

Some things ended too soon.

And some things I’m still trying to understand.

But I’m also not dragging eight months of unfinished emotional baggage into month nine just because I haven’t figured out how to explain everything yet.

I don’t need every answer to release every weight.

I don’t need closure from everybody to close a chapter.

I don’t need to understand everything GOD allowed before trusting Him with what comes next.

And neither do YOU.

So maybe September isn’t screaming:

START OVER!

Maybe it’s whispering:

Finish well.

Close what needs closing.

Forgive what needs forgiving.

Grieve what needs grieving.

Keep what grew YOU.

Release what only weighs YOU down.

Take the lesson.

Take the wisdom.

Take the fruit.

Take GOD.

And leave the rest.

Because some things weren’t supposed to follow YOU.

Some cycles are closing.

Let them.

Some doors are shutting.

Stop putting your foot in the doorway.

Some versions of YOU have completed their assignment.

Thank them and keep becoming.

Some things didn’t fail.

They finished.

And perhaps that’s exactly why there is finally room for what comes next.

Welcome, September. 🍂

I’m grateful for what was.

I’m honest about what wasn’t.

I’m releasing what has run its course.

And I’m leaving enough room in my hands for whatever GOD chooses to place in them next.

What in YOUr life didn’t fail…it simply finished?

And are YOU willing to let it?