. . . prophet 2

     . . . And then, one day about a month ago it just hit me like a brick: "This is now the time for God to bring you into the prophetic part of your baptismal vocation."  The prophets speak, and they speak in the Spirit of God--in love, admonition, and hope.  The prophet is given the words to speak, and the prophet utters them.   

     It has been so, so long that I have been silent.  I have been painfully, painfully silent.
     Amy Beth gave a HUGE gift to me when she coached me on Christmas Eve on how to do this blog. She brought it up, asked me to blog, and I gave her a dozen reasons why I can't do it.  She understood them, but untangled the issues and resolved my quagmire.  

    So on Christmas Day, I turned over a new leaf.  These are my real opinions and real experiences.  It occurred to me a few days later: I had Leigh on Christmas Day several years before.  This was like a new child--my voice.  

     But God's direction of me into this "prophetic" role goes beyond the blog.  It is all of our calling, as I understand it, to exercise this aspect of our baptismal grace when the time is right.  And so now begins the time that my incubation period is coming to a close (a period that has lasted a decade).  I now have more to say.  More is crystalized of what I am called to say: about my story, about my vision, about family and motherhood, and about the love of God.  I am happy to move past fear and emotion deregulation, and into a place of "speaking the truth in love," (Eph. 4:15).  

     I feel like Moses at the burning bush: 40 years of exile has come to a close (in my case, 10).  I am tired and ragged and unkempt.  Now it is time to speak with love, come what may.  (As I recall, Moses didn't fare so well most of the time!)  

     This is not glamorous or even enjoyable, but it is a step forward in becoming who God desires me to be.  It makes me happy!