Kombucha – Fizzle, Pop, BOOM!
Happy Friday, everyone!
It’s truly been a while since I’ve written a blog post. I love writing, but it’s been a tremendously busy season—in the best way possible.
Some of you may have seen on my Instagram story that I had a massive kombucha explosion in my kitchen! I mean, it was everywhere! Kombucha even made its way into some of the kitchen cabinets—LOL! Wild times. If you haven’t seen the story, don’t worry, you can catch it because I’ve highlighted it on my Instagram page.
When the explosion happened, I was utterly dumbfounded and shocked. I thought I followed all the steps, but it didn’t turn out as I expected…
I’ve shared this before, but every year before New Year’s, I pray and ask the Holy Spirit for my personal word for the year. I pray about it until I receive it. For 2025, I kept sensing the Holy Spirit telling me my word would be “expectation.” At first, I wasn’t sure what to make of that word. It’s a great word, but honestly, I’ve received a “positive or encouraging” word before, and it doesn’t always pan out the way I thought it would. Kind of like my kombucha. I can follow all the steps, dot all the I’s, and cross all the T’s, and yet sometimes things still go wrong.
Whenever I get my word for the year, I ask the Holy Spirit to confirm it through His Word. On January 14th of this year, while journaling and praying, I asked the Holy Spirit to confirm that “expectation” was my word for 2025. Guys, I KID YOU NOT, I opened my Bible to the book of Matthew and BOOM, there it was! I was already reading through Matthew, and chapter 11 was next.
Matthew 11:1-2 – “After Jesus had finished instructing his twelve disciples, he went on from there to teach and preach in the towns of Galilee. When John, who was in prison, heard about the deeds of the Messiah, he sent his disciples to ask him, 'Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?'”
Y’all, when I read those first two verses, it nearly blew my socks off—and some toes—LOL! But for good measure, let’s continue reading the next few verses, which is Jesus’ response.
Matthew 11:4-6 – “Jesus replied, 'Go back and report to John what you hear and see: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor. Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me.'”
Okay, let me break this down. John the Baptist is in prison. He sends one of his disciples to ask Jesus, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?” John knew Jesus was the Messiah—he was born to prepare the way for Him. But in this moment, while he was in prison and Jesus hadn’t yet fully revealed Himself, John seems discouraged. I get it—if I were doing all the "right things" and ended up in prison, I’d be discouraged too. There have been times in my own Christ walk when I’ve felt imprisoned by discouragement, disappointment, or what have you. But I love Jesus’ response! It’s full of kindness, authority, encouragement, and power! He says, “The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those with leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor.”
When I finished reading those verses, I had no doubt that my word for this year really was“expectation.” BUT—here’s the key—the focus isn’t on all the great things I’m excited about or expecting for this year, but that Jesus is the expectation. I just realized that a synonym for expectation is hope. Jesus is hope!
So, when my kombucha exploded all over my kitchen, after the initial shock, I just started to laugh. It wasn’t what I expected, but I knew I could handle it. I just needed to clean up, regroup, and try again.
We’re a quarter of the way through the New Year, and maybe it hasn’t gone exactly as you expected. But keep your hope and expectation in Jesus. Not in all the things He can and will do, but in Him! He is where the joy is. He is hope. He is the greatest expectation.
