Stay rooted

Hey Sis,

It's been an intense season of joy for me over the past 2 weeks. I barely paid mind to the intensity of the traveling across three different countries in the space of 10 days, because every moment and purpose for each trip was so beautiful in itself. Thank You Jesus! I give the glory to God alone, sis…. for the graduation of my first son from University, for the gift of time out with my sisters to commemorate my sister’s 50th birthday, for being able to spend time with my nephew Eli… my little warrior-man who has been in hospital for over a year from the day he was born, for the graduation of my youngest son from secondary school, and for having all my children home together at the same time and for the first time in over two years. It’s FULL HOUSE, babes and I am simply loving it! My joy is full, sis. Oh yes, it sure is!

The events of the past few days have had me on a reflective trajectory about graduation, about the stages and phases of our lives. While graduation is a marker for finishing, it is also is statement of the fact that you came in, that you went through (process)…and that you made it to the end, and in the end.  Process…this is the bedrock of life isn’t it, sis? That everything is a process. Graduation means that you went made it through the rigor of process. Process speaks to times of intensity, of up’s and downs. Process speaks to the forging of new relationships, the remaking/shifting/reshaping and sometimes breakdown of old ones. Process speaks to growing, maturing, learning/unlearning/relearning. Process speaks to breaking or being broken, to mending and being mended. It speaks to right steps as much as it speaks to mistakes and missteps. It speaks to stretching and being stretched.

At any point in time sis, we are either about to enter process, are right in the process, or just coming out of it. But you know what sis? Process is a continuum! It never ends. You just move from one phase or thing into the next…and sometimes many at the same time, for good or otherwise. As much as my sons have made it through university and secondary school respectively, each of them is now in the immediate process of their ‘next’. Sure, they will have some time to ‘exhale’ for a bit…but they must move into their next seasons. Life doesn’t give you those endless breathers sis, it sure doesn’t.

If you recall, I’ve shared with you the fact that the Lord spoke to me early this year about “the process of the journey” …about the need to maintain the right perspective and embrace my processes so that I am able to emerge stronger and better at the other end, regardless of how difficult the journey might have been. Perspective is everything in the process of the journey, sis. Once you have the right perspective, it helps you stay rooted, grounded, to stand firm in the process knowing that ultimately you win.

And he will be like a tree firmly planted [and fed] by streams of water, Which yields its fruit in its season; Its leaf does not wither; And in whatever he does, he prospers [and comes to maturity]  - Psalm 1:3 (Amp)

“For he will be [nourished] like a tree planted by the waters, That spreads out its roots by the river; And will not fear the heat when it comes; But its leaves will be green amidst  And it will not be anxious and concerned in a year of drought nor stop bearing fruit - Jeremiah 17:8 (Amp)

I love these scripture verses. They remind me that I must stay rooted to my Source, my God and Father. They remind me that my roots must go down deep in an absolute conviction that He is working all things out for my good in accordance with His infallible Word…. that in this position, I will never lack nourishment, that every one of my processes will bring me to a place of prosperity and maturity. These scriptures remind me that regardless of the vagaries of life, the intensity of my seasons, that I may bend but I will never break… that I will always win, by the power of God! 

Getting to where every single one of my children has finished secondary school at one end and are already beginning to leave university at the other, has not been a walk in the park, sis. There were oh so many times of prayer and fasting, times when I lived on my knees in prayer, times when I stared fees in the face and wondered how on earth we’d pull this one off, heart-rending moments in hospital… so much, sis. But it has all come to maturity, sis. Fruit has come forth in its season! We have all prospered, and the Lord Himself takes all the glory. Going through…the process of the journey wasn’t easy, sis but we’ve made it and so will you!

Today the Lord is asking me to remind you that He waters us Himself, that He holds our hands through it all. He asks me to remind you that you need to allow your roots go deep enough to always drink of Him, no matter how dry the season. He is asking you to look past your difficulties and stand firm in Him. He is asking me to remind you that if you stand firm, you will we see the markers His faithfulness through the journey. He is asking me to remind you that in Him, all things ultimately prosper and come to maturity. He is asking me to assure you that as you stay rooted, you graduate sis…in every instance, you win in the end!

Sis, life can be hard, I know. But He Who holds all power carries us. He is our Source and our Strength…and He asks that we lean totally and completely on Him. All He asks in return is intimacy with us, sis. Our roots going deeper is about increased intimacy. This has been His clarion call to us for quite a while now. Come to the Water! Get planted! Stay planted! Dig deeper! Press in! Give Him time! Give Him more of you! Stand firm in Him! Stay rooted! Once this is our heart stance, our spiritual commitment, we graduate with honors sis, no matter what!

Sis, I pray that you allow this world to sink deep in your spirit, that you allow the Holy Spirit clarify it for you Himself, that you open yourself to Him showing you where you need deeper roots and how best you can stay grounded through your trials. Yes sis, my daily prayer is that you allow the Lord to guide you into all things, into all truth, into every victory….. even as surely as He is daily leading and guiding me.

Be blessed sis… for you surely are!

JUST MOVE!

Hey sis, June already? Not a single post from me in two months? And only two posts this year? Oh dear! Not good, Audrey! Not good at all!  Here I am again starting off with an apology about how long I have been away from this platform and how there's been a lot going on with me work-wise and in so many engagements that I find myself enmeshed in. But you know what, sis? We are all busy and so that is NOT a tenable excuse anymore, certainly the last time I will be making it. Truth is that I could have applied myself more intentionally to this platform, regardless of how crazy things have been around me. Thinking about it though, part of it has also been that that it is sometimes overwhelming how many lessons every one of my days bring. I was sharing with my sista Bidemi recently, that I see a message from God in almost everything. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised though. He did say He would be speaking with me on-the-go, didn’t He?

I literally see God in my details, sis. I see Him speak through the most simple and otherwise insignificant looking things…..and they're deep messages…so deep that it’s been hard to know which specific one the word of the moment would be. The problem with not settling on any one message and running with it however, is that this has over time built itself into some kind of a ‘writer's block’. My truth therefore is that this is what has largely kept me this far away from this platform. It hasn't just been that I'm busy…no, it’s more because I haven't been able to just make myself sit down and write. And can I confess sis, that it is because I have gotten comfortable with being stuck?...not in the sense that it never troubles me or makes me feel bad… but in the sense that I have clearly not wanted the change enough so as to force the shift! Ouch! Hard truth, but my truth nonetheless! Hmm! Can you relate sis? Ouch! This really hurts!

This is then exactly what I want to share with you today, sis. What happens when it looks like you're stuck? What happens when you know to ‘do’ but can't find the energy or motivation?   What happens when you are faced daily with things that are the burning desires of your heart to deliver on, yet you just can't seem to make yourself move even though you know you need to? What happens when ‘stuck’ becomes your default, sis? When stuck becomes a comfort zone…a painful zone yes, but a comfortable and familiar one nonetheless?

I just came home from our bi-annual three-day Sista Power Gathering retreat. Now the details of the retreat are not mine to share, we keep that as quiet safe space. But I can share this element because it is my story. During our Vision Board review exercise, I‘d shared how as regards my spiritual goals, that I hadn’t been able to move forward with my writings which I know without equivocation, are an integral part of the ministry assignments on my life. I admitted that I was seriously struggling with being able to move forward, despite a deep hunger to do so. Thank God for God though. He had a sure word for me in the course of one of the ministrations. You see sis, I heard clearly that if anything was going to shift…..it was in my hands and in my power to do! I realized again that I needed to want something enough to do something about it…. because I am the only one who can! More than anything else though, I had found myself in the session I was facilitating, reminding others not to forget that whatever their assignment might be, it was about more than themselves…it was about the destinies of generations that are waiting on them to give full expression to their gifts.  

As I spoke, the Holy Spirit nudged me not too gently, reminding me that in choosing to stay stuck, I was forgetting that this platform is for a purpose that is well beyond me. This platform is not about my love for writing or gift of writing. No, it is about those whose lives and generations will be touched because I chose to deploy the gift as the Lord would have me do! And, in that understanding, I knew I had no choice but to move, sis. I knew I could not stay in stuck even for one more day!

So, the question the Lord has for us today is how do you get to from stuck to shifting, to moving? You know what sis? You just do! You just move! You take your eyes off the imperfections and limitations of your current situations or potential results, and just take a first step! For instance, today I decided that even if I didn’t have a specific message, I was just going to write an article. Literally, I said to myself "Girl, just write something!!! If you are stuck, then that is exactly what you will write about. Leave it to God to make sense of it in the end!” I said to myself that even if this particular post does not make sense, I would do it anyway. I would do the voice note. I would transcribe it, edit it….and I would to post it regardless. In a sense therefore sis, this post is less about you and more about me intentionally choosing to shift from stuck and get moving again. There is a fire in me that has desperately wanted for so long to come back to where I'm blogging regularly as I used to, and because I’ve been reminded by the Lord Himself that it's up to me, I am choosing to shift ground and move on to delivering on this assignment.

Sis, this post is about me coming to the realization that whether what I write would make sense or not in any instance is no longer the case. It has never been about ‘my’ message anyway. Me writing this today is about me going back to the place of trusting God to speak that which He desires. One of the many deep insights I received over the course of our retreat was that it is pride and arrogance not to move because you are afraid to find out that God didn’t send you, because you are afraid to fail or to be wrong. Sis, I have clearly been more focused on being sure that you are pleased with my output when you read my post, than I have been with simply showing up in obedience to God and allowing Him process His message to you for wherever you need it in your life. I deeply apologize…first to God, and then to you sis. Henceforth, I'm going to be focused on making sure that I deliver with much more regularity on this platform. I can do all things through Christ! That is God's Word concerning me. Christ is in me and He is the hope of glory. He is the One Who has given me my gifts, my talents, my abilities. I have the mind of Christ, therefore I cannot be confused. I cannot stagnate. I cannot be frustrated. I cannot be stuck! It is His glory that is at stake! His glory in me must shine forth, sis! It must!

God is the One that put the desire to start this blog in my heart since I started it almost 9 years ago. It was and is for His will and His good pleasure. This has nothing to do with me, nothing to do with my ability, nothing to do with a gift that I obviously didn’t give myself. This is strictly God and for His glory! Therefore, while this might not have been the deepest most spiritual of my posts, it is me saying “I'm arising, I'm shifting ground, I'm refusing to stay in stuck!” Sis, I choose to stretch, and I choose to deliver. And I'm doing this because I am intentional about fulfilling God's call on my life and living a life that is fulfilling to Him first, and then to myself.

How about you, sis? What are the things or where are the areas that you haven't been able to move forward in in your life? Where are you stuck, sis? Where do you need to make a shift? Where do you need to move? Sis, the only person that can make this happen is you! God has already done His bit in resourcing you. This is not about perfection, sis. Like I said, this post is about me choosing to SHOW UP! This is really just me saying no, I don't want to be comfortable in a broken place….. because sis, as far as you and I are not delivering on our assignments for God, we are in a broken place. Sis, can I ask you take a moment look your ‘stuck’ in the face? Look it in the face and take a determined step forward, sis. As you do, don't worry if the outcome looks as great as the ones you used to see in the past. Focus only on the shift, sis! Celebrate the fact that you moved!  Sis, take that one step as I have done now. Just make a move, sis! As you do, I promise you that the Lord will steadily take you back into the place of a seamless flow.

The Lord had said to me that this is my year to ‘Thrive’ but I was seeing too many dropped balls in the areas that mattered to me the most and that has saddened me all these months. But it ends today, sis. I have such joy and fullness in my heart this morning.  This post is me saying,

“Lord, I come back and put my hands in Your hands. I take this one first step knowing that You can and will amplify the results by Yourself. Lord, I'm taking this one step as a commitment and a coming back to that which You would have me do. I'm committing that I will keep coming back with regularity Lord, and that whatever it is You will show me, I will speak. Lord, I will show up and write even if in my own eyes it appears that my articles may not be as concise, may not be as great, may not be as well read as some others have been. Lord, those will not be my metrics or markers of fulfilling Your call. My marker will be that I show up, Lord.  Father, I will show up knowing that only I (because of Your power that is already at work within me) can move me out of the place of stagnation and into a place of progress and productivity. I choose to show up, Lord! I chose to shift! I chose to MOVE!”

This is what I want to encourage you to do today, sis. Just rise up! Just shift! Don't stay in stuck in stuck sis, make that one tiny step. My sista and pastor @BidemiMark-Mordi always reminds us that the Holy Spirit is more than able to bridge the gap between our ability and what is required in any situation or season. Sis, let's leave it to God to help us to do greater things as we come in the fullness of obedience to His instructions. Make a move, sis! Make a move and allow the Lord unfold the greater that He has already put in you, even as He's surely unfolding the greater that He put in me. I speak over you and declare that the Holy Spirit helps you move past your stuck places, sis…. even as surely and as certainly as He's helping me.

Be blessed sis…. for you surely are!