Are You Really Listening to Him?

Psalm 46:10 "Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth."

So I’d like to tell you about the day I was brought to make a decision about living in Memphis. It was the Monday after Mother’s Day, May 11th. Let me set up the way it happened. I hadn’t spoken to my birth mother in about 7 to 8 years. We had gotten into an argument about something that my mom seems to understand better than anyone. The fact that people in my life have never truly allowed me to grow up and be a lady or as mom says ‘be a grown woman’. So I had lost the last 8 years of a relationship with my best friend. I mean, Jesus is my best friend, but physically my mother was my best friend too. Most girls tend to reach a certain age and their best friend becomes their own mother. Very ironic if you’ve dealt with a mother on the level I have all these years. See at the age of 5, my mother choose for my little brother and me to go live with our dad b/c she was having financial trouble as a single mother. Unlike what I was dealing with as a single mother. Financially my children and I were doing great. Anyway, back to the story at hand, how I came to the decision to move to Memphis.

On Wednesday night before Mother’s Day, May 6th, my pastor at Long Heights Baptist, Kenny Carr reminded us that Mother’s Day was Sunday and now that his mother had gone on to be with the Lord it made him miss her more on Mother’s Day. And he knew I hadn’t spoken to my mother in a number of years and longed to have her back into my life. He seriously told the congregation that night that if there was anything between you and your mother that prevents you from seeing her to get it right and make sure you don’t miss another Mother’s Day with her. Man, that struck a chord in my heart so tight I could hardly breathe. So the next day as I was going to look at a house in Martin, Tennessee to rent b/c I might be going back to school at UTM, I had about 3 friends praying for me. Praying that I would be doing the Lord’s will in my life and if it was His will for me to live in Martin to make it apparent to me. Well, before I got to Martin, I decided to look my mom up by calling her church. I had been trying to find a phone number for my mother for about a year and was coming up empty handed. Even my pastor had tried to find an address for me but it was unproductive. When I called her church in Collierville, I choked up before the woman could take down my number, she asked to pray with me, for me and my mom. I thanked her and once I drove back into my hometown about 45 minutes later, my mother was calling my cell phone. We talked for about an hour and I was so happy and made plans to go see her on Mother’s Day, stay in Memphis and visit for 2 days.

So I left McKenzie late on Sunday, May 10th and arrived in Memphis around 8pm that night. Mom had recently moved into a bigger home and it is right around the corner from the University of Memphis. Well down the road and around the corner but it is close. I want to finish my degree in communications and public relations and the U of M has a great program for that. I also want to study and major in 1 to 2 foreign languages, which the U of M offers degree programs in 11 different foreign languages. How could this be? How can coincidences be so unique to this school, right in the city where my mother has lived for 30 years? I wanted to attend the University of Memphis out of high school, was even looking to try out for their cheerleading squad back then. Don’t worry, I’m not planning on it now, I’m a little too old for that now. Though I ride around with Hannah’s Rebel M megaphone on the side of my black Cavalier. People must think I’m straight out of high school, haha…..

The second day I was visiting my mother, I decided to do some ‘business’ in the bathroom off a room she wanted to set up for me when I would come visit. The room was still a mess of boxes at this time. So I took a book of mom’s into the bathroom with me and as I sat reading I kept being distracted by a voice that had my attention. I knew that voice and thought, “Father God? I’m trying to read something about You in this book and I’m being distracted by a voice or thought that won’t go away.” And I heard my heavenly Father chuckle and reply, “Yes, that would be me. I have something to say to you. Put the book down….nice bathroom, huh? How would you like for it to be yours?” I had put the book down by now and thought, “Oh no you don’t. Satan, get thee behind me! I’m not moving in with my mom! No way, no how! Go back to the pit if that’s you, Satan!”

God said, “Nope, it’s me, God. I know it seems hard for you to understand how much of a blessing you’d be to move in here with your mom and step dad but this is a decision I’m bringing you to, but the choice is yours. I will bring you honor and blessings if you move here to your mom’s and go to school at the University of Memphis. I promise. The choice is yours.” And the Lord lead me to Matthew 3:15.…”Jesus replied, ‘Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.’ Then John consented.” How many times have we argued with Almighty God and realized when the situation had been come to a conclusion, God had His hand on the circumstance the entire time. I know my life has turned into a direction that I never saw myself going in. Yet I know that my Creator holds my future in His hand. And He wishes nothing but great things for me and my future. And because my Creator takes such good care of me, I’m very careful to be mindful of the direction He wants my life to go in every day, every hour, and I praise Him all the day long.