The minister is preaching my sermon right now, and I thank God for the spirit of agreement and every tongue that shouts his praise, because they bear witness to HIS truth and my testimony, by which I wholeheartedly acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, and Father God is the most faithful and able provider in this household.  Thank you, Lord.  Hallelujah! Amen.

I’m not envious of anyone for what they have or bitter about anything that I have been through, because the person that I am today is the person I became because of what I had to withstand, endure, and overcome that I might become the scepter of a hope and a future that God ordained me to be before the sperm was formed in my father’s testicles or the ovary in my mother’s womb that came together in blissful unity at that specific moment in time when God called me out of conformity and put me on my pathway to destiny…with the blessed assurance that HE will forever be my guard, my guide, and very able provider; and I thank him immeasurably time and time again for the all the angels in human form who has been very present through all the changing seasons of my life thus far and those who will join in merry measure in time to come to further the cause and to usher me towards that expected end, when – and wherever – that will be.

I’ve never worn a wedding dress, had a debutante ball, owned a house with my name on the deed, earned a degree of higher learning, cruised the Mediterranean, sailed the seven seas, or taken hold of any of the mountainous accolades that many in our society call the benchmark of success, but I am firmly rooted and deliberately centered in the grace, mercy, and unfailing love of God for time, place, and purpose, to wit I raised a generation of children, only three of which I actually birthed, to be fine, upstanding, purpose-driven, and self-supporting citizens of their respective establishments, and embraced wholeheartedly the love and fellowship of family, friends, and professional acquaintances, absolute strangers, pilgrim soldiers, and willful warriors, whom I’ve met on the pathways of life…and when my final day on earth is made known, those are the things that will not only matter most to those who are left to mourn, but live on for generations unknown to tell the old, old story of the God-given reason for which I was sent to them, to sit on the circumference of their lives, and keep them in right-standing order to the glory and honor of His name and the betterment of His people everywhere. BE STILL AND KNOW… I’ve been up; I’ve been down; I’ve been in, out, around and through – and some days I don’t even have a clue about where I am in my own mind, let alone what I am supposed to do as “a contributor to cause,” to quote one of my Directors, but one thing I do know, and indelibly learned, in all my years of living – I ‘ve learned to pray.  In praying, I’ve come to realize that the answer is not blowing in the wind, the answer dwells in the spirit that guards and guides me.

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” John 14:27 (KJV)