WE SHALL OVERCOME- THE REMIX

by Deirdre Simmons

This is not your grandmother's Negro spiritual; the holding hands and swaying kind of we shall overcome.  It is not someday, it is today.  It is recognizing our collective 2016 mountains and personal valleys.  It is not passive.  This is a Beyoncé awaking, I can't breathe, why all this for no turn signal, 9 dead in a church, and a mentally unstable deranged bigot wants the White House kinda we shall overcome. This is overcoming crime and the accompanying helicopters in our hoods, the morally corrupt in power, and a demonizing of God's people.  It is the focus on testing versus learning and the dumbing down of our babies kinda we shall overcome.  It's the movement to reinterpret and change the word of God about marriage.  It's the inner voice saying you have no voice, it's our addictions, our anger, our mental instabilities, which by the way, we refuse to acknowledge much less seek help.  Listen, it’s national, it's local, and it's personal.  

We have been put on notice-it's formation time.  So, how do we overcome in a time when we are out of step, out of touch, and so many are out of line?  Here is the charge for overcoming: Fuel hope, build faith, and do the work.

Wilderness moments are when things are darkest and the outlook is bleak. Stop and reflect on some of those times.  Call out the trauma by name.  Now, take a slow cleansing breath and realize He has brought us through it all.  He is the same God now that He was as He comforted us through the pain.  In Psalm 119 verse 90, we are assured that God's faithfulness endures through all generations.  Fuel your hope knowing we have collectively and individually overcome: we will again.

As you strengthen your mind and spirit through prayer and study, surround yourself with people who truly have your best interest at heart: you are building your faith.  Have you heard someone say God knows my heart as an excuse for not going to church or actively participating in the building of their faith?  When we study the word, engage in learning together and prayer, it's like constructing the armor before the fight.  Hold fast to your hope and don't discount how important it is to get together to stir up some love and good works (Hebrews 10: 23-25).  We wouldn't wait until we are in the midst of a conflict to build up protection.  Get your sword, your breastplate, helmet, et.al, together, now.  

Faith without works is dead.  You've got to put in the work.  There are no shortcuts.  If it is changing the landscape of a nation or your personal healing (and everything in between) do the work. We can learn and be inspired by others' stories: Nehemiah rebuilt his city that was in ruins and the woman with the issue of blood put in the work  She made her way to where she knew her healing could occur.  She reached out her hand and spoke up.  Daniel is falsely accused and put in a lion’s den yet he remained loyal, Joseph's life was the "pits", and Shiphrah and Puah worked in their gifts and made a safe passage for babies putting their own lives in jeopardy. They were all on assignment.  What's your assignment?  God does some of His best work in situations that look bleak: times when we can't see the victory.  People will discourage, distract or try to destroy you.  We are on assignment: don't get sidetracked. Do the work. 

Reflect and remember the trials of the past and how we have overcome. Get together and build your faith; seek out help when you need it.   As we are closing our discussion on overcoming, I want you to refer you to someone's story.  In the book “Until The Brighter Tomorrow" by Valerie Rainford, she recounts some of the difficulties and tragedies in her life.  Be inspired and sure of the fact:

We shall overcome...

Deirdre Simmons, PHR, SHRM-CP, entrepreneur, past president of SHRM Gateway, and most important role-wife, began Cast Your Net on the Right Side #NowWhat non-profit to bring a relationSHIPS dialogue to the community. This God-given vision provides biblically based practical instruction for men and women on everyday living while edifying participants.  There are 2 other business under the cast your net brand: Cast Your Net Travel and Smoove Stones.

This graduate of Purdue University is also an EEO Advisor, has a certification in HR and is currently enrolled at UCONN.

The former Deirdre Cash has been married to chef, trainer, chaplain, Minister Jerry Simmons for 6 1/2 years.  She has worked as a servant leader in several ministries however, wife is her first ministry.

WHEN TROUBLE COMES

by Simone Oliver

¹⁰But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you.  ¹¹To Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen (1 Peter 5:10,11)

We live in a culture that I jokingly call, “Fakin’ Worship”.  It seems that the Praise and Worship movement that has overtaken our churches, has created an atmosphere of false humility and false faithfulness.  We have perfected empty clichés:  I am blessed and highly favored.  I am too blessed to be stressed. And when the choir starts to sing, Chile, we lift our hel…, hol… (whatever) hands. You know, it seems like er’ body is walking in the favor of the Lord and we got to get our “praise on”!  We don’t even grieve at funerals anymore!  Somehow to cry is to be faithless and unbelieving, but I know that he who loves much also grieves much.  Certainly we know we shall see our loved ones again, but for the moment, the loss is great and no one should feel ashamed or guilty for expressing their grief.  Have you ever noticed how people are expected to praise their way through everything?  Listen, I love to worship, really I do!  BUT, I also know that life brings us trouble; it doesn’t always feel good and no one should feel compelled to “praise” in their pain because often the best praise we can bring to the altar is our tears.

Do you remember The Five Heartbeats?  Who doesn’t like that movie?!?  Well, I can’t think of anyone!  Most of us enjoy stories of challenge and triumph -- of overcoming and beating the odds and certainly good music helps; but, there is one line in the movie that had an impact so great that I have never forgotten it  Do you remember Duck’s acceptance speech?  “A critic said, ‘Donald Mathews will be a great writer one day when he suffers more.’ And I said to myself, what does that mean? Now I know what it means.”  Is suffering really valuable?  Apparently God thinks so.  Jesus often spoke of what he would suffer and what those who followed him would suffer, but the truth be told, adversity will find you whether you love Jesus or not and whether you believe it has value or not.  It’s just a part of life.

Let’s face it.  Life is life and there are only two things we can be sure of.  The first is that we are not getting out alive and the second is that adversity does not discriminate.  That, along with sin, is the greatest equalizer of human kind.  All have sinned and all will suffer.  Job (14:1) said in this way: Man is born of a woman is of few days and full of trouble.  But some suffer to bitterness and some suffer to “better-ness”.  We often wonder how some persons face what seems like insurmountable obstacles and not only survive them but remains pleasant, graceful and productive while others face fewer obstacles and their lives spiral downward and they are left stagnant, hateful, and toxic.  Well, I think it comes down to how well we choose to suffer.  I know, I know!   It seems that suffering and well should not be in the same sentence.  We can’t pick our suffering, but we can choose how we’ll respond to it.  I’d like to give you five necessary keys to suffering well so that you can be honest and left better rather than bitter.

1.       Acknowledge your pain.  Name your pain and give yourself permission to feel it.  Be as kind and gracious with yourself as you are with others.  God understands the messiness of humanity; you don’t have to pretend to have an unshakable faith.  We all shake in the midst of adversity.  You can count on having some bad days.  Honestly, you won’t disappoint God if you don’t have it together and your tears and disappointment are not a measure of your faith.

2.      Trust that God has a plan.  Nothing sneaks up on God, God just can’t be surprised.  God knew about it before you did!  Many say that God never gives us more than we can bear, I don’t believe that.  God often gives up what we can’t bear so that God can bear it with us.  God walks with us in our pain.  God’s strength is made perfect in our weakness.  God is sovereign, just and faithful and has a plan for our lives.

3.      Be open to learning.  As my siblings and I transitioned from tweens to teens, my father was often heard telling one of us, “You’re going to have to buy your own sense on that one.”  What he was saying that there were some things in life that we were going to learn only from experience.  Adversity can be an opportunity for great growth if we are open to learning.  It has the potential to mature us and make us wise in ways that no other education can do. 

4.      Be patient.  All adversity passes.  Trouble doesn’t last always.  In the Bible, there are 182 occurrences of the word suffer and it’s various tenses and 522 occurrences of the word blessed and its various forms.  That lets me know that God’s blessings in our lives far outweigh our adversities.  So we can hope, even in the midst of pain because of who God is and What God promises. 

5.      Ask God to meet you in your pain.  It’s a process.  Getting over your disappointment, anger, bitterness and unforgiveness may take some time.  Keep praying about it and keep practicing.  Some days will be easier than others.  God has never called us to bear the burden along.  “What a friend we have in Jesus.  All our sins and grief to bear.  What a privilege it is to carry everything to God in prayer.”  This will compel you to worship!

 When you choose better instead of bitter, worship will naturally spring forth as you learn that God is walking with you in your pain.  When you choose better instead of bitter, God’s presence will bring you comfort, you will begin to glimpse a brighter tomorrow and you will know that you can patiently wait the good things God has in store for your future.  Kahlil Gibran said, “Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls.”  Yes you can be certain that through it all God will perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you—if you choose to be better instead of bitter.  

Simone Oliver has journeyed from tragedy to triumph, from victim to victor, and from surviving to thriving after a horrific, violent attempt to end her life.  She is a passionate preacher, educator, and advocate for women who is committed to the spiritual care of women and girls, bringing healing to their wounded hearts through God's grace.

Simone is Executive Director of New Day Ministries, Inc. which she founded with her husband, Allen, to combat gender-based violence and create safe sanctuaries in all churches.  

A FRIEND TO LEAN ON

1 Thessalonians 5:11

Therefore comfort each other and edify one another, just as you also are doing. (NKJV)

A while back I had a conversation with a friend about an old issue that I dealt with more than ten years ago now.  While I was talking I could feel my heart racing, muscles tensing, and I even started to get a slight headache.  I thought that I was over that thing.  I believed for a decade that I had overcome the situation that had hurt me to the core.  Truthfully, I had not overcome my past and was living daily as if it did not bother me.  My friend challenged me on what I had done to overcome the issue and the best I could come up with was that I tried not to think about it and thought that time would heal the wound.  When hearing myself give this explanation I realized that I had done nothing to really get over my past.  I had not done any worthwhile work in overcoming my pain and this was evident based on the agitation I felt when talking to my friend.  Naively I thought that putting something in the back of my mind would make things go away.  Sometimes when we are so hurt we forget everything that we know about moving forward and letting go. But those things have a way of resurfacing when we least expect them to.

My good friend encouraged me to pray, forgive my offender, share the core of my pain to someone, and to release myself from the chains that had me bound with God’s help.  Receiving affirmation and support from my friend was the start of me truly overcoming my past so that I could build better relationships in the future.  God showed me through her that I deserved to be healed and would be if I truly sought it.  Proverbs 12:25 says that anxiety in the heart of man causes depression, but a good word makes it glad. (NKJV)  At one point I would not have considered my issue as one that added anxiety to my life, but thank God for my friend who gave me a good word and motivated me to recognize a hidden problem.

As women seeking fulfillment through Christ it is important for us to help each other.  We should be willing to be a shoulder and ear to our sisters in need, and be willing to receive a word of encouragement.  Support systems are a essential to spiritual growth.  Even Jesus had a support system in his disciples and others that helped his ministry move forward, and he was the ultimate example for how we should live in spirit and truth.  Consider your spiritual circle for a moment.  Do you have a prayer partner, someone you can confide in that is spiritually mature, or a friend that will give you a truthful and encouraging word when you need it?  If the answer is no, how can you start to build these kinds of connections?  If the answer is yes, reflect on how those relationships have helped you overcome a difficult circumstance.  These relationships should also be reciprocated so I challenge you to become one who uplifts someone in need with love, prayer, or an encouraging word.  I recently challenged myself on this and recognized that I have always had the support of women in the form of a mother, sister, grandmother, friend, and other mother-like figures.  This is what has helped me to survive some of my darkest days.  I needed them to lean on and thank God that they were willing to be that for me.  Now I need to work on being more of an encouragement to other women who may need to hear a good word from the heart and the Lord.  I want to also be a friend that others can lean on.

Bill Withers’s Lean on Me is perfect for this moment.  If you are not familiar with the song click the bold title link above  Enjoy! And thank you for reading.  

Check the Blessed Chix Blog for new posts and always feel free to comment, ask questions, and make suggestions for future topics in the comment box below or by email at blessedchix@gmail.com.

In the meantime, love AND live.

N. Wilson

creator (Blessed Chix- the blog)

Nikitia (Niki) Wilson believes in the power of storytelling.  She founded Blessed Chix to fulfill the call that God gave her to reach, encourage, and inspire women and girls through testimonies of overcoming the odds.   Niki has dedicated her life and ministry to creating a platform where women can share  with each other in safe, nonjudgmental, and “come as you are” environments in order to find fullness in life and in love.  She is happily married to her husband Rev. Eli Wilson, III and resides in Metro New York where she is a librarian.