The Key

I am holding on to something that appears to be worth nothing at all, but it turns out to be all that there is or ever will be. Faith by Yolanda M. Smothers, Author

The Womb

The Womb

What was once comfortable to me; that dream state of wondering what LIFE is going to be like has now turned into a self-made prison.  I don’t know about you, but I am sooo ready to be birthed.  But only God knows our gestational period.  The space that I am in is cramped and I can hardly move about, yet until God dilates my exit, I won’t be able to push my way through; and trying to go where God hasn't given the green light, can cause more harm than good – It might be extremely tight but it’s right – for right now.  There is only so much time that I can stay in the womb before I outgrow it; so I must trust that God knows best.  There is nothing more that God wants to do than to birth me into my next level of living BUT in order for a healthy birth, with less complications as possible, I must wait upon the Lord.  When we think about all the transformations that take place inside of the womb – it is nothing short of a miracle.  Therefore, when we think about where God is trying to take us, to break free from a life that we once knew into a life that is greater than what we ever could have ever imagined – it’s going to take that same trust in miracles.  There is a world out there that many of us have never known because we think that life is only inside the womb or we are too scared to believe that there is a whole entire world that we have yet to experience.  We may think that a baby cries after first entering into its new world outside of the womb because they are frightened and scared but it could be quite possible that they are crying in exhilaration that they made it to the next level; that level that they could only hear about through the muddled walls of womb (testimonies of others, hearing the word preached; but to know for yourself is an entirely different experience) – they heard but now they know that it is real! Tears of joy perhaps?  In order to know, we have got to go through and come out on the other side.  Afterwards the afterbirth comes and we appreciate it for giving us a place to live for a time being but we must leave it behind, it’s no more use for it where we are going.  We could easily discards our past trials and tribulations just the same if we only trusted that they were only for a season and not where we were meant to stay.  Can you imagine what LIFE looks like to a baby?  Can you imagine what your LIFE looks like?  To go from humble and meager means to traveling the world and not having issues that plague so many – like money worries or health issues?  That world is out there – we just have to believe it is and have the faith that God will birth us and bring it to pass.

The Yo-Yo Experience

It’s amazing how God can take one thing and bring revelation by it; and it seemed that neither had anything to do with the other.  Everyone knows I've been trying to shed a few pounds and it hasn't been necessarily hard, but I had to be committed and dedicated to my walking.  I cannot always eat what is best for me but I can make better choices from what I do have.  No knock against anyone who has had the weight loss surgery because I tried my darnedest to have it done myself, but I know now what I didn't know then; and that is that I would have squandered it and quite possibly regained all the weight and then some; because I would not have valued the blessings because I didn't have to work for it.  The time in effort that I put in to my walking makes me appreciate the poundage lost and I can see the work put in = my weight loss goals.  At first it didn't appear that I was losing inches, let alone pounds but I persevered in spite of what I saw.  Faith without works is dead and now I get it!  I could have wanted those pounds to fall off but until I got up and started moving, they would have stayed right where they were because weight loss without exercise of some sort - will not happen.  We must exercise our faith!  Had I not found myself on this journey I might have thought that I was doing all that I could to better myself, when in fact, there was some participation on my part to live a better life.  I have yo-yoed on many diets but I have not been as successful as I have this time sans the dieting, because I didn't t look for a quick fix but accepted my responsibility.  In God we trust, but are you doing your part? Are you exercising your faith to obtain your goals?

Destitute

Destitute: A state of being without friends, money or prospects. 

Destitution is a very tough situation to be in.

Bring your brow down a tad-bit, level off your nose from sitting too far in the air and extend your hand to someone less fortunate than you.  And don’t make them have to ask or beg for your assistance all the time.  Instead – Give to those who you see in need (at least sometimes), without them having to come up to you and ask.  Leave them with some respect and dignity.  God does and has done the same for us on many occasions when we don’t have the strength, good sense; or lack the faith to ask.  But we can build someone else’s faith by one random act of kindness.  Say, “God Bless you or God laid it on my heart to do thus and so for you”.  What a difference it makes in two lives – ours and theirs.

“Ask and it shall be given”.  “Give and it shall be given unto you”.  These are two different commandments.  There are times when we are need and we must do the asking.  Other times we are in the position to give.  There was no stipulation to the who, whom or what we are to give because giving comes from the heart. Oftentimes, those worse off than we are; or even we ourselves know not what to ask, who to ask or how or when to ask.  Give when you feel that slight tug on your heart or in your spirit. Don’t ignore an opportunity to glorify God and store one up in the heaven’s bank of credit, to be withdrawn from at a later date; because we all are going to need to take a withdrawal at one time or another – possibly for an extended period of time.

“I've never seen the righteous forsaken nor his seed beg bread”.  I myself have never seen one person say “No Thanks, I don’t need this help or that blessing”.  On the same token I have never seen someone tell God, “I don’t need your blessings”.

Just because you don’t have the same or as great of a need as someone else; don’t dismiss their plight so easily, but realize that if it hadn't been for the grace of God – where might you be?

Can't Fit In

Stop trying to “get-in where you fit-in”. Just because you can fit doesn't mean that you are not a perfect fit somewhere else. Trust God to position you in the perfect position that was created just for you. It is uncomfortable to be somewhere or with someone or doing something that you weren't t designed to go, to be or to be with. With God all things snap right into place – in due time and in due season.

Admit One

The day that the Lord calls each of us home, we will only be presented with one ticket in through Jesus Christ.  The ticket says ‘Admit One Only’; there won’t be any friends or family to stand alongside of us and plead our case.  It will only be you alone standing before the Almighty.  And it is not general admission – you must have a ticket to get in.