“Chef walks out of 5-Star Restaurant Mid-Dinner Rush!”
Do you ever feel like your life if full of 5’0 clock news headlines? It’s almost like you can hear them as things occur in the midst of your every day. Okay, maybe it’s just the theatrical person within me. I guarantee you, however, that if you ask God to increase your sense of humor, you’ll hear them. Sometimes, they make me laugh; I know He does this to keep me from crying sometimes. During the most recent headline in my life, however, I was not laughing, I was crying. You know the kind of crying where you don’t have tissue so you look around for what you might be able to use because it’s an emergency! I found a wash-cloth that I had just used to clean up some spilled coffee on my desk, and I used that like it was my grandfather’s blue-bandana handkerchief. Then, I called my mentor, who was expecting me to show up at a 7:30 (all weekend) women’s conference (that I committed to going a month earlier) and I said, “I have no idea how I’m supposed to get there…..” I proceeded to tell her about the many problems I had. Even as I heard myself talking, I knew that the enemy was trying to keep me from receiving an amazing Truth at the conference, but I was so worked-up with stress, anxiety, and exhaustion, that I allowed the drama to fill the air-waves. I continued, “Do you realize that if I walk out of this office right now, it will be the equivalent of a chef walking out of a 5-star restaurant mid-dinner rush hour?!”
She said, “Hmm. Yes, I do. Kristina, listen to me. You know what this is. You know you are to be at this conference to receive something amazing that God has for you. The problems you are having right now are mere distractions. They are things we can handle on Monday. For now, you know you need to stop, calm down and get here.”
She went on to explain that she’s seen this a thousand times, but she’s also seen how when women are obedient to do what God asks them to do, regardless of what they see before them, He blesses them in mighty ways and He takes care of the issues that were pressing in on their chest attempting to prevent them from coming. Miraculously, after the conference those issues that threatened to prevent them from coming evaporate into thin air!
Against all logic, against all common-sense, and circumstances, I did what she said, and I walked out of the office, got in my car, and drove to Atlanta. I grabbed a roll of toilet-paper for the drive. I had a good sense that I’d be blowing my nose a lot on the way.
Post-conference update:
“Woman Obediently Attends Conference that God assigned Her to Attend, And receives Countless Blessings and Freedom from Bondage!”
Don’t you love the headline that replaced the first one? The conference was a combination of what I experienced at boot camp in the military and cheerleading camp. The leaders challenged us, made us feel uncomfortable by being honest with ourselves and with God (boot camp), but they also encouraged us to the point where they were yelling, clapping, and singing like nobody’s business. When I was in high school, I was co-captain of the cheerleading squad. When we went to cheerleading camp every summer, we sang chants at breakfast, lunch and dinner, and every second in between. “We R - eating breakfast; we R eating breakfast, We R! We are eating breakfast RIGHT NOW!” Okay, I’m exaggerating, a little. The cheering we experienced at the conference made my cheerleading camp days look like a boring chess game.
Oh, and the issues that were pressing in on me, attempting to keep me from receiving an amazing blessing, yep, they evaporated into thin air! But, “Now, I am - a free woman - I am! I am - a free woman - I am! I am - a free woman - I am! I am FREEEEEEEEEEEEE I AM!
I challenge you to be obedient to what God is asking you to do today. Allow Him to bless you.
He lives in ImPossible!
Everyone has heard about your obedience, so I am full of joy over you; but I want you to be wise about what is good, and innocent about what is evil. The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.
Romans 16:19-20
Kristina Seymour loves to encourage and equip women through the Word and through community. She is the author of The Warrior Mom Handbook, The Warrior Mom Leadership Manual, and The Warrior Wife Handbook; they are available at Amazon.com. Kristina's Bible studies are for women who desire to live by faith in the midst of their everyday lives. She has learned that women can't survive on caffeine and animal crackers alone; women in the Word and in community are united and able to stand firm. To learn more about Kristina, please visit her recently founded Share & Company Publishing House http://seymourkristina.wix.
Originally published Tuesday, 18 August 2015.
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