“Endings are better than beginnings.”  Ecclesiastes 7:8

What the heck is that supposed to mean? I’m sure it’s true, but regardless, I found a million ways to procrastinate writing my final post as DoAhead Woman.

I’ll say it again…I rather liked her.

But here is truth.

Sometimes we offer an idea, labor, or love, only to discover that the offering isn’t what was needed the most. In fact, the offering may actually interfere with what may have been even more beneficial.

DoAhead Woman’s beginning was rooted in the belief that God designed us to be women of vision. He desires for us to see ourselves as He does… treasured and of great worth.  I’m convinced that personalizing this truth is one of the greatest DoAheads a woman can experience.

But life is prickly. Bills need to be paid and supper needs to be made. Daily duties have a funny way of drowning out deeper truths. Consequently, it seemed to me that DoAheads were a good shovel for beating back the lies of a serpent who likes to make us think we’re not enough.

But here’s where it gets dicey. The shovel can turn on us.

It turned on me.

I remember the season clearly. I was blogging furiously, dealing with issues on the home front, and battling an extended bout of migraines. I don’t recall exactly what triggered my melt-down, all I know is that these words ruptured from my mouth,

I hate DoAheads!

My shovel had recoiled and slapped me in the face. That’s when it hit me. If I, the woman who believes wholeheartedly in DoAheads, was feeling beat up by them, how in the hay did my readers feel?

The “gift” of seeing life through the lens of Doing Ahead began to sound more like an unintended burden.

Mercy. This is NOT what I wanted.

So I began to ask around.

“What would help you?” “What do you need to hear?”

Turns out that instead of talking about “Aheads”,  talking about “Behinds” was far more encouraging. A smattering of relatable topics looked like this:

• Does this make my behind look big?  (We women have a lot in common when it comes to what makes us feel behind.)
• I Wish I Had Her Behind.  (The comparison trap is alive and well.)
• My Behind Is Turning Me Into an Ass  (Life presses in and we mess up, but it’s encouraging when someone is honest enough to say “me too.”)
• Buns of Steel  (Biblical truth is the only thing that can steel us for defeating ‘the lie of behind’.)

Who knew?! Apparently, it took the recoil of my own DoAhead shovel to help me see the light.

I still believe that DoAheads have their place. I’m grateful for them but they’ve taken front and center stage for too long. As a wise friend said to me,

“Cindy, maybe DoAhead Woman was what you were simply supposed to cut your teeth on.”

I think she was right.

It’s time to move on but oh how I hope you’ll join me. You and all the other friends that DoAhead Woman introduced me to have been a gift. For that, I will always be grateful.

December will find me popping in a few times.

I had the privilege of joining gifted authors as a contributor for my friend Stephanie Adam’s series on joy. (You’ll want to follow her at realwomenministries.org during the month of December. There will be many uplifting stories about real women and what real joy looks like.) I’ll let you know when she shares my story about God’s ability to restore joy despite loss.

The rest of December will be spent tweaking and prepping the release of cindykrall.com. (You can check Facebook and Instagram for updates.)

I think that’s it DoAheads. Remember, endings are better than beginnings (perhaps because they mark another beginning.)

Your DoAhead Friend,

Cindy