From The Stage

I’ve been sitting on this for a bit, since November actually, but never felt like it was the time to share until now.

I feel like I need to defend Dr. Michael Maiden to those who don’t believe in prophetic words or to those who are skeptical or cynical.

But God is laying it on my heart that it is not my job to defend or explain.

Maiden is speaking what is spoken to him and I’m just to share it.

To be spoken over prophetically from the stage by someone you’ve never met? It’s powerful…and humbling.

It’s hard for me to take in something like this and try to make sense of it, so I’ll try not to and let you listen to him yourself.

We weren’t expecting this.

In fact, I was turned around looking at someone when he asked if we’re together.

Who’s he talking to?

Oh! It’s us!

I’m the one with my arm around him!

To hear a well respected preacher acknowledge your husband’s strongest attributes and share that God is proud of him?

How do you not swell up?

Boast about my husband from the stage all day long if you want! You’re not wrong!

But the cynical side of me is resistant:

“He’s just buttering Justin up and using ‘God speak’ to make us like and trust him. Anyone could say that…”

But then Madien mentions age 17 - 17 1/2 and that’s when my ears perked up.

I know what Justin was like at 17 1/2.

At 18, or just a little before, Justin was sitting in a Davidson County jail cell after breaking his probation and crashing his car into a telephone pole while under the influence.

Yeah…not good.

It was in that jail cell that Justin said, “God, if you’re up there, I’ll do anything you ask if you can save this wreck of a life of mine. And if you’re not…I’m screwed.”

Well God did save Justin and, like Maiden says, God jumped into his world and changed the trajectory of Justin’s life.

He got sober and things were never the same.

Full stop.

His life was dramatically changed with that one prayer.

As for the curse breaking…Without fail, Justin has been a curse breaker. We pray regularly that the addictions and struggles he and I both face are not passed down to our children or their children.

But then you heard, in the middle of his blessing, he pivots and addresses loss.

“God’s blessing is so powerful, it’s going to take away the memory of loss, the memory of what didn’t happen.”

As y’all know, we lost Justin’s right hand man in September when he was on his way to our house. Justin had big plans for his business and Bronson was an integral part of those plans.

Maiden mentioned “maybe betrayal,” but Bronson didn’t betray us, though I’d be lying if I said there wasn’t anger directed toward him.

Why did you ride like that? Why were you going so fast? Why were you popping a wheelie up a hill? What about your daughter? What about your girlfriend? What about your friends? Why didn’t you think about how your actions would affect any of them? Affect us? And lastly, how it would affect Justin’s business?

Maybe that is betrayal and I don’t understand the definition of the word, but it doesn’t really matter.

Either way, as Maiden spoke of loss from the stage and us knowing what we went through about 2 months prior…well, y’all aren’t going to be surprised to know tears started forming.

But oh the hope when said the season of sorrow in our family (because it was all of us) is over…of unending tears is over…that grief having a grip is over.

Talk about release.

Byron G felt like a bookend to our grief, but this. This was really the bookend where it felt like we were given permission to move forward.

But he didn’t stop there.

Maiden spoke of what we were entering into. Our next season…

“your greatest season of fruitfulness is beginning…of things coming to pass is coming.”

This is where my head gets jumbled.

Who wouldn’t want that prophesied over them?

Fruitfulness? Yes please!

We already feel so blessed but know God has more. But then the dark side of my mind kicks in…

But does Maiden have the right person? Is he just making this all up? I’m sure that’s true for Justin, but what about me? I’m glad I’m along for the ride, but I don’t know if this guy knows what he’s talking about.

Y’all! This is what goes through my head! It’s crazy making! I know the voice of the enemy and it sounds very similar to this.

No! God has spoken to both of us and planted seeds in both our hearts for big things.

The things planted are for the kingdom, but we have no idea how any of it will ever come to pass.

The visions and dreams get us excited just thinking about the possibilities, but we’re absolutely clueless as to how they’ll ever come to pass…in our own making.

But for God? It’s nothing!

We just watched Him heal a family and give them over $100k for medical bills and to payoff their house. If He can do that with a phone call, He can without doubt accomplish the vision we’ve been given.

We just want to see how He’s going to do it because we know it’s going to be one heck of a story!

So to hear of things coming to fruition is exhilarating.

We feel it.

We feel the season changing and we feel ready to step into it.

And that includes me.

Something has shifted.

I’m not the same woman I was when I started writing.

I don’t see myself as a ”godly woman…a virtuous woman…a warrior in the spirit” but I am becoming that woman. The woman God is needing me to be for my family and for what’s to come.

Isn’t that what a prophetic word is all about anyway? An encouraging word to call out what God sees in you already?

I pray God shapes me into that woman because I cannot do it on my own.

“the woman who looks like you, will have faith like you, will rise up in this generation, and be a history maker like you.”

That’s humbling.

How I can be a history maker, I have no clue, but won’t it be fun to look back in a number of years and see what’s come to pass? To see how God has used us? Used me?

God spotlighted us to Dr. Maiden for a reason and though it took us a bit to process, I think it’s starting to set in.

Regardless, the grief has lifted and we’re both stepping out in the authority God has given us and in faith for all God has asked of us.

And even if it’s all baloney (which it isn’t), there is one thing Maiden got 100% correct.

Justin and I DO make a good team. One heck of a good team, if I do say so myself.