Blog 13/ End-of-Year Reflections: The Year God Wrote My Victory
What spilled this year became the testimony God used to fill my cup.
As I sit here at the close of this year, my heart feels full in a way I cannot entirely explain — only God can get credit for what has taken place in my life. The day that I received the message I have prayed, cried, and fought for: my dissertation has been officially accepted and marked complete.
After everything I’ve come through this year, this moment feels like God's gentle whisper saying, “Daughter, I told you I would finish this with you.”
This wasn’t an ordinary year.
This was a year of valleys and victories. (Psalm 23:4-5)
A year where I experienced loss, healing, instability, and unexpected transitions — all while pursuing the hardest academic challenge of my life.
And yet, God never left my side…always rocked with me. (Isaiah 46:4)
Even the messiest moments can brew God’s greatest miracles.
When Life Shifted, God Stayed Steady
There were moments this year when my body was in pain, my finances were stretched, my heart was discouraged, and my future felt like it was hanging in the balance. The stress. The setbacks. The uncertainty. The exhaustion.
But even in those moments where I didn’t know how I would push through another week — God strengthened me. (Philippians 4:13)
He placed the right people in my path.
He opened spiritual doors I didn’t even know existed.
He gave me courage when I was tired, and clarity when I felt lost.
Some seasons break you down — but this one rebuilt me.
Sometimes life splashes out of control, things stack up, and still, God writes victory.
A Dissertation That Became More Than Research
When I started this doctoral journey in Fall 2023, I thought I was writing about student engagement, sense-of-belonging, self-efficacy, and the experiences of Black students. But somewhere in the middle of the storm — God turned it into my testimony too. (Luke 21:13)
My dissertation became a reflection of resilience.
A reflection of what it means to be seen, unseen, dismissed, uplifted, and rebuilt all at once.
What I produced academically was rigorous and scholarly.
But what God produced in me spiritually was strength, endurance, faith, and fire.
And the season of victory starts today, that work has been officially accepted — the final seal on a chapter I poured my heart, mind, and tears into.
Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise! ~Psalm 95:2
Gratitude Is My Final Grade for the Year
I end this year not with bitterness about what I endured, but with gratitude for how God covered me.
I am grateful for:
His provision when finances were uncertain
His presence when I felt alone
His healing when I felt loss
His guidance through every revision, every page, every prayer
The receipt of an acceptance letter is more than completion.
It is confirmation.
I survived what was meant to break me.
I overcame what was designed to discourage me.
I finished what the enemy tried to derail.
And through it all, God was faithful.
All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty. ~Proverbs 14:23
Closing This Year With Reverence
As I look toward the next year, I do it with humility and expectancy.
I don’t know every detail of what comes next — but I know the God who goes before me.
What I do know is this:
This year taught me that God is still a miracle worker.
God is still a protector.
God is still a provider.
God is still the author — and the finisher — of every good work in my life.
And as for me?
I’m walking into the next chapter with gratitude, strength, and the quiet confidence that God already wrote the ending in my favor.
Here’s to closing this year with joy, peace, and thanksgiving.
Here’s to the chapter that ends in victory.
Here’s to the God who kept me through the fire — and brought me out refined. (Daniel 3:26-28)
With a grateful heart,
Dr. Courtney Nicole Johnson
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