10 Years + 1 Day

10 years + 1 day ago, my life changed.

It wasn’t cute either. Instead, it was the crying, arms wrapped around your body, trying to catch your breath, I’m tired and I can’t do this on my own anymore kind of yes. See, I was outside of God’s will. Yes, I was going to church and was very good at religion. I’d gotten that thang down and was great at pretending, but I was tore up and suffering with no real relationship with God.

And I was tired. Tired of ignoring His call when He’d wake me up in the middle of the night and interrupt my day. Tired of struggling, financially, and being in over our heads. Tired of the check advances, title loan, bankruptcies, and paying every bill late.

Then on 8/28/14, I stopped running and gave God my yes.

I remember it, vividly! Standing in the last bathroom stall at work silently screaming YES GOD, OKAY YES! Understand, saying yes doesn’t magically erase everything, but it sets you on the path to purpose. When I said yes, it restored what I didn’t know was broken and it stitched what I couldn’t see was bleeding. I stood apologizing to God for all the time I wasted only to realize, had God given me destiny then, I would have messed it up.

This is why I’m grateful for all I/we’ve been through. It made me stronger. I’ve shared this before, but that day, back in 2014, our entire life shifted. God told me it was time to move, and He meant that weekend. Here’s what faith looks like. WE DID! We moved even though we had no clue where we were going. My husband probably thought I was crazy, but he trusted my OBEDIENCE in God because he’d seen me struggling. So, we packed up over Labor Day weekend, 2014, put our stuff in storage, and moved. 3 months later, we rented a house in Southaven. Get this … we didn’t pay a bill late.

But here’s the shout. It was with the SAME MONEY! The money didn’t change, but our mindset did.

Has it always been good? No. Has it always been easy? No. Has it always been fair? No, but it has been all God. It’s been ten years + one day later and I’m still saying yes. Now, I get to say it as a whole pastor of a church. Wow. #thankyouGod

P.S. This tattoo, on my wrist, is purposely of the day after the yes, when God began shifting my life for His purpose.