"Our Daily Blog" #22
"Thy Will Be Done"
By Dr. Gloria Latimore-Peace
Proverbs 3:5-7 Get wisdom, get understanding: forget it not: neither decline from the words of my mouth (6) Forget her not, and she shall preserve thee: (7) Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore, get wisdom; and with all thy getting, get understanding.
"I wish I could tell you just what I want
And you give it to me just like that
The truth of the matter what I want just might hurt me
And you won't let me go out like that
You know my end before my beginning
Calculated blessings down to the penny...."
"Your Will" a hymn written by Rev. Darius Brooks.
My life has been and is a testament to the profound truth contained in the lyrics above. As I reflect on the "unmerited favor"* that I have been graced to enjoy, I find innumerable instances of blessings that have come to me seemingly "out of the blue". Among the most remarkable examples are: the Omni-U website, the H3O/Art of Life television show, the YouTube Channel, the Facebook and the Blog-site platforms, through which I am privileged to do the work I feel called to do.
That God knew "my end before my beginning", has been abundantly clear for as long as I can remember. And the tools, that have been provided to me, have been produced by college-educated Public Relations experts who had not even been born at the founding of Omni-U or the launching of The H3O Show. Only God could have chartered the course my life would follow. Only God, who "works in mysterious ways" --and often through people- could have assured that there were people in the world - in the right places and at the right times- who would willingly and unselfishly deliver the "unmerited favor" that God wanted me to have.
There is neither time nor space nor memory to enumerate all of the "calculated blessings" that have been bestowed on me through the kindness, generosity,and sacrifices of family, friends, co-workers, students,neighbors, acquaintances-and even strangers. But, their deeds and images shall forever remain in my catalog of memories. Yet, despite the overwhelming evidence of the Presence of God as well as the Grace of God in "my" affairs and in "my" life, I have sometimes been disappointed when I was not given "just what I wanted just like that".
In the season of my childhood, I counted my "unanswered prayers" as more important, more essential, than those that had been answered - some of which had not even been prayed. "My" prayers were specific, i.e. they outlined my must-haves, in painstaking detail. Now that I am well into the season of my Elderhood, I have been blessed with the wisdom to know and understand that I have been protected from the results of failing to "be careful what I prayed for". I have lived long enough to witness the downside of always getting "what I want".
So, here I am on my knees once more. And again I am praying, along with most of the rest of us, for relief from our suffering: the confinement and the deprivation of the benefits of the "old normal" such as: being free to circulate amidst threat(s) to our health and well-being by incorrigible leadership, an obstinate virus, an unstable climate, "bad apple" policing, the possibility of long- term unemployment while getting only "another day older and deeper in debt"[1] or, being "put outdoors" because unemployment benefits as well as foreclosure and eviction deferments are set to expire this Summer.
It is in times like these that we must "Be still and know that I am God...".[2] It is imperative that we not only believe but, first and foremost, we must KNOW our God, ourselves, our divinity, our ancestry, and our heritage. It is essential that we love ourselves; care for ourselves; heal ourselves from within, and inform ourselves- of our history of resistance and resilience- as well as about our current condition and prospects. We must remain steadfast in our faith: we must never lose confidence in our ability to transcend challenges. Romans 8:31 What shall we say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?
Footnotes
[1] "Sixteen Tons" By Tennessee Ernie Ford
[2] Psalms 46:10
Resources
Dr. Patricia Newton, "Dr. Pat's Show", Sankofa Revolutionary Radio, Tuesday 9am CST. Rebroadcasts; 3pm and 9pm CST.
*"Grace" By Rev. Darius Brooks