Today’s my birthday! Yay! This year has special meaning and significance to me. I was diagnosed with breast cancer in October 2020. I recently finished chemo treatments. I will begin a month of radiation in August. How faithful the Lord has been to me. I am so very thankful to be alive! How I praise my Heavenly Father, my Lord Jesus Christ & the precious Holy Spirit for my new year.
I have gained new perspectives and new priorities as I have walked through this fire. Outward appearances and stuff is not nearly as important as I once thought it to be. What is important is my relationship with God, family and friends and fulfilling my destiny.
I have gone through a season of loss and gain. I have lost my hair and gained 35 pounds, lol! But you know what? I am still ok. I can laugh about it! I remind myself that it is only temporary. I have still have my sense of value, worth and God given self esteem. In fact, I think I am more confident in many ways, glory to God! When my “cherished” hair that I gave way too much of my time to began to fall out to the point that I had to shave it off, I cried. I cried for about a hot minute or two then I was done with that. I reminded the Lord that His Word says that a woman’s glory is her hair. I told Him that I felt like I was losing my “glory.” He told me that HE would be my glory! I was good after that! It was a great exchange, the “glory” of my hair for HIS glory upon me!
I made a decision early on in this journey that I would be real. My personal choice was to go bald in public, no head coverings. I am not judging anyone else who wears head coverings or wigs at all, that is a personal choice. I sensed the Holy Spirit whisper to me that it would be an opportunity to minister to others if I did not cover up what I was going through. In the process, the Lord broke off the opinion of man, rejection, pride and vanity. Good riddance! By the grace of God, I am not going around hanging my head in shame or hiding in the shadows like I previously would have. Hallelujah, the Lord is my Light, my glory and the lifter of my head!
Funny thing is, my shiny bald head is like a magnet, no kidding! Talking about a conversation starter! It draws strangers and friends alike to me. It has allowed me to share with them the goodness and faithfulness of God in the midst of this fire. It is amazing to me the divine encounters and the doors God has opened for me to share His love and the hope I have in Him. My influence and my harvest field has enlarged for the Kingdom of God! Talking about the Lord taking what the enemy meant for harm and turning it for good! Boomerang, Boomerang, Boomerang!!!!
So many difficult yet wonderful things have happened. I have learned much and still learning. I have changed and am still changing. I am still a work in progress but I am becoming who He intended me to be all along!
This is my 58th birthday. I am so excited about my future! The number 5 in the Bible represents Grace. God has certainly extended His grace towards me. His grace has carried me through the difficult times of my life and especially the last 10 months! The number 8 represents a new beginning, a new order. As of today, I step into my new season, a new order of things in my life. I am reset to run my race. This is my time to walk into and experience the fullness of my destiny and calling of God! As a way of celebrating my birthday with me, will YOU be reset today and step into your destiny? What a gift that would be to you and to me. Nothing would make me happier!
By the way, in case you are wondering, I am expecting to live a healthy 4 more decades. That would only make me 98! I’ve got a lot of stuff to do.