The Lifter Up of My Head

"But thou, O LORD, art a shield for me; my glory, and the lifter up of mine head."

Psalm 3:3 (KJV)

I have been going through a really rough patch in my life for the better part of a year...but you know, I have found that it is those rough patches in my life that smooth out the "rough around the edges" areas in my core being...this in turn brings forth the ripeness of blossoming fruit on the branches... that are connected to the Vine, our Life Source.

Water, as it appears in a running brook, seems to be a non abrasive substance--yet hard, sharp edged rocks are transformed in the smoothest, roundest pebbles, over the course of time. So it is with us...it takes time to smooth out our rough edges, and while we are in the midst of the process, "going through" it is not a pleasant ordeal. Lest one think that once he goes "though the fire" that he is done with such trials for life, au contraire! There will be many periods in our lives where we will feel the need to cry out, " How long O Lord, how long?"

"How long, O LORD ? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and every day have sorrow in my heart? How long will my enemy triumph over me? Look on me and answer, O LORD my God."
Psalm 13:1-3a

I can't tell you how many nights big fat tears barrelled down my face, soaking my pillow, as I went to sleep crying out to the Lord. This sounds like a cliche, but I had to endure the weeping during the night, to experience the joy in the morning. I wish I could be more specific, but this is a public forum, and I can't share specifics online.

God has revealed Himself to me in a way that I knew was possible but I had never experienced quite like this before. All I can say is Hallelujah! This deeper revelation of God has spurred me to want to get to know Him even deeper.

"And now shall mine head be lifted up above mine enemies round about me: therefore will I offer in his tabernacle sacrifices of joy; I will sing, yea, I will sing praises unto the LORD." Psalm 27:6

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Purposefully, It's All About God!

Hail, hail, the gangs' all here! In our 40 Days of Purpose small group we have 8 regular members (male and female) ranging from 31 years old to 84 years old. I was very pleased that we have such a broad age range, because we are able to glean insight into different generations' ways of understanding life, and we are privvy to pearls of wisdom from everyone...especially from our elder stateswoman in the group.

The small groups were initially were put together by the church according to your proximity to the host homes. God definitely had a hand in that! I did not know where I was going to be placed until 3 days before my small group was to meet! I ended up being placed as the facilitator of a small group being hosted at the home of a former classmate of mine from college! We've not been close, but we've certainly been friendly up until this point...and now as the weeks go by, we are getting closer and closer, praise God! Our group members have admitted that they look forward to our weekly group meeting...and last night several wonderful things happened, but I'm only going to share one right now.

Last night was week 4...the midpoint in our 40 Days of Purpose small group session, and I'm telling you, it was the bomb....literally! We had several things shared by members last light, but let me relay this one to everyone:

I can't remember what exactly led to this, but at one point during the meeting, one member shared with the group how something another member of our group said at a crucial time in his life that had really hurt his feelings. We all knew that the member who had said the offensive statement had been an old friend of his for many years. I was glad for his candor, but I was wondering, "Where is he going with this?"

He went on and shared more details of the incident, and other members asked non-accusatory questions trying to ascertain why different things were said....especially to the member at that particular time in his life. The wife of the member who had been offended was passionately explaining about her husband being hurt by his friend when she felt that her husband needed to be able to depend on his friend the most...to the point of tears welling up in her eyes.

We asked non-judgemental questions, of the member who had allegedly offended him. He continued to offer why he said what he did to his friend, but something about it just wasn't adding up. What he said to his friend, did not equate with why he said what he said at all....but he continued to stick to his guns as to why he said what he said.

Oh my...ebonically speaking, what did he do that for? Suddenly, our youngest member was set off ....literally! Like a cannon ball, she was out of her seat and across the floor, very passionately expressing her point of view about why he should have never said what he said to his friend or to anyone else!

We all understood where she was coming from...but watching this exchange I was mindful that this had to remain a controlled atmosphere where God was in control, and this meeting was purposefully about Him. And you know what? It was. She went back to her seat, everyone remained peaceful, but it seemed that her outburst gave him something more to think about. Using scriptural references to back up what was said, several other members chimed in.

Finally, our elder statewoman spoke up with well seasoned words after hearing everything. I'm sure she does not realize what she did, as it was a natural instinct for her, but she reached over, and patted him on the leg, and told him that what he said was indeed wrong, and that he had to stop justifying it, simple as that! He accepted her advice with grace and turned to apologize and hug his friend. The friend accepted it all.

What we witnessed was incredible evidence that our small group was being effective....We were careful not to gang up on our brother, but fellowshipping in the spirit of sharing truth in love, we were able to listen to intimate information, share information and our points of view, and get a resolution, without residual hurt feelings and bruised egos. And all this from a group that has only been fellowshipping together for 4 weeks now! Wow...like I said before, world look out!!! The members of FCF are on the move, charged, and empowered by God to change the world!