rejoice

My story is already written, and the lines have fallen in pleasant places. To me You have given promises untold which are soon to arrive; new levels of rejoicing and revelation. Show me the purpose of my days and reveal the joy of Your work. Open doors that can't be closed. Close doors that shouldn't be opened. Teach me Your mind. My times are in Your hands. I treasure and long for no one else more than You. I will not fear the uncertainty of the future, but will rejoice in the magnitude of Your power to save, deliver and capture the hearts of Your people.

I thirst for You. I long for Your rule. Let Your dominion reign. Let joy reign. Let peace prevail in me. I will not be afraid. Purify me to receive all that You have for me. I thirst for You more than I thirst for earthly love.

Happy Birthday, Ann!

birth

Since your inception, I nurtured you with a closeness to my soul I hadn't yet experienced. With love and protection and cultivation I nourished myself so that you could grow. And in my deepest recesses I hid you away until you could thrive on your own; an independent, vibrant being. As much as I wanted you, the pain and struggle of survival threatened to undo us. Discomfort and sleepless nights threatened my decision to harbor your body within mine.

But through that intensity, I came to know you with divine understanding. I now recognize your cry in a room full of screams. You are my own, my beloved labor of love.

After nine months, we must give birth. We must oversee and steward that which has been entrusted to us by Heaven. The time has come to reveal who we are; to share our gifts, partnership, calling and commitment to those who have so eagerly awaited our arrival.

clarity (the essence of a Legacy)

The days surrounding me today are delightful. I have not always nor do I always take delight in them, but I will because they originate with You. They have their proper place, and I will not resent them. Through them I see myself as I really am. My failure and success, immaturity and wisdom are clear. I am in focus. Being forged in me are things I cannnot live without if I am to travel to places I've never gone.

I see a warrior. I see a warrior who fights for her beloved. This is her Legacy.