My life has been feeling rather Charles Dickensish. It’s been the best of times and the worst of times. I don’t know from one day to the next what’s in the cue. Am I to adorn my cutest pair of earrings, or should I prepare myself to remove them while slapping vaseline on my face going into yet another battle royal?! Deep breath or deeper prayer? Songs of Zion or songs of trap? I just don’t know which way the Lord is taking me – but I do know that He’s not leaving me (or you) out here in these streets by ourselves. And even when the streets say otherwise and there is a desire to throw in the towel, I am reminded that perhaps we are experiencing the temperament of being blessing adjacent.

I cook, when I have to, and when no one else in the household will (which is rare), but what I know is that while cooking, I cannot experience the beauty of the meal without it being prepared; preparation that requires heat and boiling at a temperature that is uncomfortable. When God is doing His most amazing work in our lives, it will not feel as though we are on our way to a feast. In fact, it may feel like a perpetual famine. During this past week nothing in my work environment presented as though “it was for my good.” In fact, the work that I’ve so passionately engaged in throughout my career is under fire. It’s being questioned, rejected, pursued and quite honestly harassed. In other words, the heat feels as though it’s at a boiling point. If I were nine, I would have packed my rope or ball and went home. Yet, as believers, as soldiers in the Army of the Lord, we have the ability to know as my beautiful and anointed sorority sister, Linda Gill said this weekend, God will turn our vicissitudes into our victories! We can stand still and see the salvation of the Lord, in the land of the living. We will experience hardship. We will experience persecution, but the Lord has overcome “it” all on our behalf. We just have to alter our thinking and reposition our spirit to know that our difficulties are simply blessing adjacent.

We are directly positioned to receive what God has orchestrated and prepared for us. The blessing is customized to our situation, to our need, to our now! We know we are close when absolutely nothing seems to make sense and we experience a bit more amplification of the “worst of times.” Nevertheless, while new to us, nothing we encounter is new to God. In fact, He fashions trouble for our triumph! As my mother says, ” I love Him on today!” I praise Him on today and I know deep in my being that my blessing and your blessing is simply adjacent. May we adopt this language in a deliberate manner to let the God of our weary years and our silent tears know that we are in alignment and acceptance of the works of His mighty hand!