I'm Following...

"I'll leave my father's house and I'll leave my mother. I'll leave all I have known and I'll have no other."

That is the song I sing under my breath here in the Seattle-Tacoma airport. Can I just say that this airport so closely resembles a shopping mall that I might just buy a plane ticket to spend money on over-priced merchandise because it looks that cool? A little much? Maybe. Oh well. ;-)

Well, saying my goodbyes to everyone was definitely interesting. My wonderful Elk Grove family threw me a surprise goodbye/early birthday party (which was a real surprise in itself, considering they had all kept it from me for at least 2 weeks and secrets aren't well kept. haha). It was a wonderful thing celebrating such a milestone in my life that has still yet to be known amongst us all..

This past weekend I spent in Manteca for the Glory Fall conference at Place of Refuge... (If you haven't gone, you need to..next September!). It was such a lovely close to be with people who have walked with me from the beginning as well as those who crossed my path along the way. Our last Cov Time until my return :)

I cannot tell you how encouraging, lovely, and absolutely stunning it was to have my Family praying for me. So many of them covered me in prayer as their goodbyes-for-now were said. How heart-warming it is to walk up to one to give a hug and they just start declaring blessings, guidance, and direction over you...anointing you...your hands and feet...wonderful. Indescribable.

And then of course, saying goodbye to my bestest friend of all was the weirdest. We had been in this state of pretending I wasn't really leaving. We hugged one of those long, emotional hugs, forgetting that we would see each other on my last day again. I am lightweight proud to say I did make her cry. ;-) I win. I always cry.

I think my mother was the hardest to say goodbye to. She has been so supportive of me in so many ways; it is very hard to leave her.


And while all of these were hard for me, I can't help but feel a freedom in leaving everything behind. Like this next season is one of me and Jesus and us alone. One might call it "a delayed honeymoon" hahahahahaha. I make myself smile.

I visited an old teacher today. He is not a lover of the Lord, and yet when I told him what I am going to do, he was a supportive as any pastor would have been. He said to me, "You always seemed like you would be going to college just to bite away at the bit. Like it was something that just weighed you down."
I reflected on what he said for a moment. Something that just weighed me down. This was very true. My spiritual mother made a very similar statement last week at breakfast. She said, "Your mom has gone. Your sister has gone. It is only you. You have nothing keeping you here anymore." How true that statement was. The only thing keeping me from being free was myself. My mindset. I found myself stuck in the mindset of, "I can't be the one to do it." Whatever "it" is. I am slowly beginning to realize I can. I can be the one to do it. I can be the one to be free. I can be the one who is so lost in Jesus that my only desire would be to reflect Him and radiate the glory of His goodness.

That reminds me of something I wanted to share when on the plane.
These last 2 days I have been absolutely obsessed with "Sovereign" by David Vallier and Amber Brooks. Absolutely obsessed. I sang it the entire plane ride. Actually, I only sang part of it.

You are sovereign, Lord, and I bless You. You are perfect in nature.

Would you reflect on that with me for a moment? "You are sovereign, Lord, and I bless You. You are perfect in nature." It had me thinking....in times like these when things seem impossible, scary, confusing, sometimes we need to just declare the goodness of God and worship Him. You often hear pastors state that as well. But why would we do that? Why would we declare the goodness of God in hard times? He knows He is good. He hasn't forgotten that. In fact, when He looks at us, He sees Him and He remembers He is good and enjoys it. Same thing in all other creations. He is confident and secure in His goodness. So why would He need us to tell Him?

This is my thought: sometimes our declarations are not about reminding Him, but reminding ourselves. I know sometimes I forget that the nature of God is goodness and love. I forget He is kind. Often when things go wrong I think, "WHAT THE HECK, GOD???" But then I stop myself. God is good. He is perfect. So if He is perfect, everything in His will is perfect. Just because perfect by human definition is perfect by divine definition, does not make it less perfect. His perfect is different than ours.

I feel that is something we often forget. And if we do remember, it is mechanical.

How about in your next chaotic moment, you stop for a minute and say out loud, "God is good. He truly loves me. He sees more than I do and He is taking care of it. I will praise in name in every circumstance and worship Him all my days." Take that minute to really reflect on the goodness of the character and nature of God. I promise it will turn your day around and put things in perspective.

And with that, I shall leave you, as I prepare to board Part 2 of my three-part plane journey...

Pleasant dreams, my loves! Let Jesus lavish you with Love as you sleep!

Xoxo,

Cheryl

"I will praise the Lord as long I live; I will sing praises to my God while I have my being."

Psalm 146:2