The Smell of Freedom

It's been more than a month since I posted. In some ways the days have sped past me like I was sitting still, and in others, it is as though it has been much longer.

We lost David's sister, Judy, on February 11. She suffered a fatal blood clot in her lung following surgery on a broken ankle. The time spent in Austin with the family was bittersweet, but the presence of the Comforter was quite strong at the funeral services.

Two hours after singing at the funeral, I lost my voice, which had a significant impact on my plans to lead worship at the Thrive women's retreat that weekend - in fact, it made it impossible. But God had other plans, which He typically does when ours turn south, and it was a sweet time with my sisters, including a very timely and personal encounter with Him. God is so good.

Over the next several weeks, as my voice has slowly recovered, I have come to appreciate the silence and the things that the Lord is speaking to me in that silence. For weeks I was rendered quiet and was forced to slow down and listen. What I heard was the strong, gentle voice of the One who knows me more intimately than I even know myself. He has at the same time quieted things in me that needed to be stilled and begun to stir up in me those things that have laid dormant for far too long.

Revelation regarding my own value and worth is slowly taking shape in a way I never expected. From understanding more about myself and my destiny to recognizing the specific strategies of the enemy to target me personally, I am coming to a place of a deeper awareness that will lead me into a freedom I have never known.

The smell of deliverance is lingering in the air. Freedom hovers nearby, whispering my name and beckoning me with the challenge, "How desperate are you? How badly do you want to be free?"