One of the most difficult aspects of being away on a long
vacation, particularly if it was as fun-filled, as emotionally and spiritually
enriching as mine was; is that at the end….the very next day...BOOM! Real life
hits you! I mean you always just kinda hope that you will have the chance to
ease into things slowly when you get back right? Right? Scratch that! No answer
required. I mean this is clearly a rhetorical question isn’t it? Real life is
always here. While you vacation to get some reprieve from your daily realities,
real life stands back, adopts an "I'll never leave you nor forsake you''
posture and carries on like you never left. Indeed that is what happens exactly
- life goes on! You go away, yes.... but
in the end, two -four weeks later, you do have to come back! Sigh!
Do I sound like my reality is a bad place to be? Oh no, no,
no! That is surely not my intent. I have a great life for which I am eternally
grateful to God. What I am saying though is that while dealing with the
emotional adjustment of leaving my first child in another country; coming back
to unpack our one-too-many suitcases; having the children start school the very
next day and coming home with a pile of assignments that they needed my help with; and then resuming work the day
after to find several files and official emails awaiting my attention, plus several
update meetings lined up by my various managers; my nerves were close to being
fried at the end of day one. By the evening of day three, I was at my wits end.
It was truly a bit too much reality too soon, lol. I knew I was close to
breaking point when my hubby asked me what was a rather simple question and I
couldn’t find the strength to respond. I simply slumped on the sofa in total mental,
physical and emotional overwhelm. The poor man was understandably quite
alarmed, I tell you. I mean all he did was ask what was for dinner. He held me
in a quiet embrace and then 'ordered' that I went to sleep early (err... okay
so I went to bed early. No sleep for a while as my mind pondered over the many
things I had to deal with the next day. Sigh! Sigh! Sigh!).
Faithful God that He is, the Father was clearly watching out
for me, speaking a word to someone somewhere to reach out and encourage me. I awoke
to find a voice message from my Coach, singing me her trademark 'Good morning
to you' song. She asked 'How are you? I was thinking about you and want you to
know that you are loved and appreciated’. I responded to ask her to uphold
me in prayers as I was struggling with the weight of current responsibilities threatening
to overwhelm me. A message came right back from Coach Anna. She said a few
things but what hit the mark, and this I share with you is that she said to me
'You are not struggling. That’s not who you are. You are EXCELLENT!' Now
if you know Anna McCoy, “I'm excellent” is her standard response to the
question 'How are you?' and excellent she truly is!
As she spoke those words to me, my eyes flew to the WAN
bracelet on my wrist. As the Spirit drew me to focus on the ‘woman’ bead, the
message behind that particular bead washed over my spirit once again. I
declared afresh to myself: I am a woman of an Industrious Spirit! I am Excellent!
I am a woman of an Excellent Spirit! I
am excellent because the I Am is in me and He is such an incredibly Excellent
God. I am an Advancer! I am an Achiever! I am an Accomplisher! I am an Executor
! And yes, I am a Finisher! I am all I am because the greater One in me has
empowered me with strength from on high to be all that I can be... all He has
designed me to be!
I am not perfect..... My Father reserves that for Himself
alone. In my imperfections therefore, it’s okay for me to struggle with the
post-vacation overload. It’s okay as long as I do not allow myself to stay in
the place of wallowing. It’s okay as long as I can make the deliberate choice
to lift my head and see clearly that this too shall pass. It’s okay as long as
I do not by my words, empower my challenges of this season… No, they shall not
overwhelm me for I am well able! It’s okay as long as I have awesome people out
there holding me up in prayers, speaking words of encouragement into my being.
It’s okay because even in the place of my struggles, I am intentional about
being a blessing in the lives of other. It’s all okay. It really is! I mean,
just think about this concerning me, and concerning you sis:
I am a child of the King! I am royalty! The Owner and Creator
of the universe is my Father any my Friend! He gives me my very breath of life!
He causes lines to fall for me in pleasant places! He goes before me to make
crooked paths straight. He brings forth my health speedily! He fights my every
battle! He keeps me from the snare of the fowler! He causes me to be content!
His grace daily abounds towards me! He never leaves nor forsake me! He is with
me through the fire and through the flood! He called me by grace into a
personal relationship with Him! He daily loads me with benefits! He is my joy,
my peace, my Lord! In my lowest of moments, He picks me up. When I cry, He comforts
me. He is always before me, with me, around and behind me. He has hemmed me in
on all sides with His love and protection. He has me in His secret tabernacle! He
has awesome plans for me life! And best of all, in Him I have the promise of
eternal glory.
Truly, I'm excellent ….simply because I am! Sis, you are
excellent simply because you are! I don’t know what might be trying to steal
your peace this period. It may be way more serious than post-vacation blues. It
may be a genuine challenge to your health, your finances, or your most intimate
of relationships. Today sis, I ask you to speak the ‘Who’ that you truly are
and not of the situation you find yourself in. Adopt a “though He slay me yet
will I praise Him” mindset and declare with me today that you are EXCELLENT! Agree
with me that henceforth this will be our daily confession…. and I know we will
surely see excellence play out in our lives in Jesus name. He did say we should
decree a thing and it shall be established right? He did say that life and
death are in the power of the tongue right? I choose to speak excellence today
sis. My prayer is that you will too.
What was that? Did you ask me something? How am I?
…..I'm
excellent sis. Simply excellent!
Be blessed… for you surely are
Posts
Indeed, I am. This was an excellent blog and its timing for me, even more so.....even if my heavens feel like brass, I am excellent because I am loved by a pretty excellent God!
ReplyDeleteSis, one task, one day, one hurdle at a time....His grace is all you need.....
Thank you for this word in season. You're right. Sometimes, we forget that we're not our situations. So when our situations become overwhelming, we're crushed under them. I have indeed been feeling crushed, these past few weeks. Your words have reminded me that I am indeed me, the very much loved daughter of God!
ReplyDeleteA timely reminder that although we often think it as women, the reality is that we are not superwoman. We also need to 'come aside and rest' and recharge our batteries, so we can be the women of excellence we were created to be.
ReplyDeleteA timely reminder that contrary to popular belief, we are not in fact superwomen. We too need to 'come awy and rest awhile' and be recharged by the Father. So that we can be the women of excellence we were created to be.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful Audrey! You are indeed a woman of an excellent spirit! Praying for your good success! Coach Anna
ReplyDeleteYes indeed you are a woman of excellence Audrey. We are the seed of an excellent God and we can choose a more excellent way! You are loved!
ReplyDelete