Always Essential
Dedicated to my neighbor…one of God’s front line workers…
Recently I have been having these conversations with a neighbor of mine, (we’ll call her Kristen), who have been battling the stress of being overworked during COVID, family/divorce frustrations and having to fight to maintain her own self-care! Sometimes, she simply wants to talk and get another perspective of what’s been rolling around in her mind. Its usually about some current event happening at the time.
She never criticizes any of my advice nor practicalities, and she always ends with, “thank you for that—it takes a village right?”…especially when she hears a new perspective she had not heard before. It doesn’t mean she agrees with everything, just that what she heard, may have been unexpected and may be a bit challenging.
When the conversation gets a little biased, (especially about racism, or the vaccine or clumping all black people in one pile)…she says, “I hear you—it is what it is,” and ends with this sentence. “Thank you….it takes a village right?”
I don’t know why, but when she says that, it always annoyed me. Perhaps because she appears to believe that she is not only a privileged white, but that her perspective, is the only one that is to be considered.
Here’s her stats: essential health care worker, six figure income, works at a prestigious hospital, white-divorcée, just purchased a home here in the mid 400k, 4+ beautiful children, and having her dad and mom constantly doing everything for her as she worked. You all know the scenario. It never appeared to me why she found my perspective so interesting. It’s as if she needed some answers on certain topics, so she could discuss while sipping cocktails. So it just became easy for me to just not be available as much as I normally would.
Many times I got irritated because of her constant “village” remark because you see, for one…Kristen, a white, opinionated professional woman, has her own views about everything. Why does she need my input about anything? But, she always comes with so much depression and fatigue, and just wanted to talk with me. Me? Why me?
My first crazy thought was this, “oh she must be after my son,” because she is always making references to him when he comes around! This may or may not have been the case. Now I realized that it was certainly in the realm of possibility that perhaps God was drawing her to Himself, through me—just like He drew me, many years ago—by using a little ole grandma from across the street, who would always meet me at my mailbox and share Jesus. This seemed to be His way of helping me through my anxiety, marital stresses and oppression.
I oftentimes see Kristen walk the neighborhood from house to house, with cocktail glass in hand, and figured that she was in pain. I just didn’t have the heart to try to take away her cure for stress and her coping mechanism… which usually is the heavy drinking.
However enlightenment came…(you know that there will always be correction), the Lord strongly suggested to me that I indeed was her village. Huh?? 🤦🏽♀️…and that He had cause me to be exactly where I needed to be in this village called Amberly—to sow His life, into the lives of those ripe fruit…through divine appointments.
Many of you would probably see her as the neighborhood “Karen” and I certainly did not want to get caught up in this type drama with the seemingly gazillion Karen’s in this hot spot neighborhood. Understand that breaking strongholds almost always causes what is known as “kickbacks” (lions dens and heated furnaces), from the oppressor, and I just wanted to let this one slide.
I enjoy her active little girls who seemed to always feel comfortable with me and always would smile as they watched what I was doing from their garage, that backs up adjacent to mine. The youngest would bring me flowers from their garden. It touched me deeply as I must have been missing my own little Whoodie! So God had to enlighten my own perception in this situation.
My attitude was that they had their own support system-a grandma who is nearly always there, a granddad that fixed everything around the house, including the landscaping, so I wondered and asked the Lord—what would they need from me?
While interacting with Kristen though, I have noticed that the anointing comes on me when engaged with her; and after engaging with her, and I would then become a little irritated that when she asks me a question and didn’t get the colored response she expected, she would conclude—"it is what it is”, and say “it takes village right?”
I remember always thinking “I’m not your village!” God always has this sense of humor with me when he’s elevating me to another realm of responsibility, where he wants me to just drop my own preconceived notions about who and how I am to pursue my purpose.
I remember always thinking, “this is supposedly an African Proverb from my own people! Why is she using that expression? She’s trying to bond with me? Where’s her own mom? I have enough of my own adult children to continually influence!”🤷🏽♀️
Somehow her using that expression, rubbed me wrong! I thought, “they stealing again!”🤣🙏🏽😇
My correction from the spirit of God was this: why don’t you think you’re a part of her village? Because she white? You don’t know her background. I do! She is one of mine that the enemy has kept her imprisoned with perceived white privilege. Devil don’t care nothing about any of that, and she seemed to be losing it, and the cocktails didn’t seem to be doing it for her anymore.
The stress of her job as operating room nurse, was weighing on her severely at times, along with having 4 teenagers, ranging from ages 10-16. I once looked at her while in conversation, and saw a distress, fragmented little girl, confused and fearful, who had taken responsibility for her life and family, but now everything had gotten to be too much for her to handle alone! She often talks of dropping them off to me so that she could just breathe. I do get it!
The Spirit of God gently, but with conviction reminded me of what my divine purpose and purpose on earth is…to assist people to recover out of the snares of the devil, so they can make the intelligent decision for Him and be birthed back into His Kingdom!
Scriptural References
In Daniel 10, a new king emerges, and Daniel seemed to have lost some of his prestige with this King, however, he didn’t lose any prestige with the Lord. Nothing had changed between Daniel and the Lord, but the empire “around” him, had changed, in which the Babylonians took over, but Daniel remembered the message which was given to him from an Angel sent from God, it gave him strength from the Lord!
The Message:
“Daniel-you are Highly Esteemed.”
He didn’t take the vision/message and go about boasting about who he was, and walked around with a “look at me, I’m chosen” attitude!
God told him he (1) highly esteemed him, (2) that Daniel mattered to Him, (3) God affirmed that He was watchful over Daniel, and that (4) He knew the exact number of hairs on Daniel head. Since God highly esteemed him, of course He was going to use him—sometimes anonymously.
As believers, we sometimes are so focused on what we’re not…what we don’t know, what we fail to do—and a “woe is me” attitude, because we’re not in charge of some big project…but God does not need those things to make an impact where He plants us! Neither will our bank account balance give God assurance as to whether we can be used!
We are valuable to Him and what He has asked of us, is that we would seek and serve Him, to join Him in His purposes on the earth! Your life does matter!!
Even though we matter to God-we are not to push His buttons and not allow Him to correct us! We don’t tell Him what to do, as He is not threatened by any of us. We should be honored to serve Him!!
Consider how God brought the Israelites out of Egypt and kept them healthy through many plagues, and then, they in return refused to acknowledge him. They didn’t understand their value. They became so self absorbed! They complained and didn’t understand their significance. They wanted to just stay in one place and let God meet all their needs, as He had been doing.
You must take your place in the Kingdom! That’s why we are here! It’s the greatest decision of your life!!!!
God is happy for us to enjoy our life, but all of those things are secondary to our honoring and “yielding” our life to Him!…To not yield is to lose “focus!” You then, will be considered a “reluctant recruit!”
The message of Christianity has not been focused on seeking the Lord diligently. It has been this: to just repent and get saved, (which is soo right), but the new birth experience and new life, will consist of more than just checking the boxes of what it means to be a believer, but is defined by seeking the Lord, pursuing after Him, and investing in Him… and continuing to believe His word—no matter what! Your happiness should never come in front of seeking first the Kingdom of God.
Think of Moses on his journey with God. Though miracles…but on most days, somebody was always grumbling, as he lead them. Miracles happened, but it didn’t mean that Pharaoh cooperated. It wasn’t easy!
Is there anything you’re holding on to, that is a limit, a weight or an inhibition? You must now determine in your life, those things that you are engaged in, that is not a good utilization of your time, talents and finances—and those things that are not helping you gain strength. Be willing to set them down! You may get to pick it up again in another season. (seasons do change you know!)
We are going to need God’s strength in our life in order to take the stance which He has asked us!
In this Kingdom we don’t quit until there is a victory!
The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon us, Because the LORD has anointed and commissioned us to bring good news to the humble and afflicted; He has sent us to bind up the wounds of the brokenhearted, to proclaim release from confinement and condemnation to the physical and spiritual captives, and freedom to anyone imprisoned…