"Tis the season....to live in Purpose"

This is my most favorite time of the year. I so look forward to Christmas and the New Year...not for the gifts or presents or the parties...but for what the season represents; the birth of my Lord and Savior Jesus Chris and the spirit of renewal that his birth represents. I remember as little girl, being raised as a P.K. (preacher’s kid), Christmas was a big deal. The programs, plays, services, and parties were way too many to count. But as I got older and began to experience life, it took on a whole new meaning for me. Now I truly understand what Christmas really is, because my Savior was born; I have life and have it more abundantly. 

As I reflect on this year and previous years, I can't help but be thankful for the gift of life. This year has been filled with many disappointments and trials as well as triumphs and victories. And I am still thankful for it all because I know that without the mercy and grace of God I would not be here. As I have had to deal with some issues that forced me to look my mortality in its face. And when you are faced with life and death situations you began to see what's really important.  In 2011 I was told that I had a small brain tumor, the size of the tip of pen that had been seen on an MRI in 2008, however, I was not told about it until 2011. Yes, three years had passed without me knowing. So you can imagine the thoughts that raced through my mind...had it grown, was it cancerous, was I going to die. And at the same time I was dealing with this, I had a friend whose sister who had just passed from a similar diagnosis. I prayed, cried and wallowed in self-pity. Why me Lord? I am just a year out of a surgery where I had 24 fibroid tumors surgically removed, you brought me though that, why must I continue to go through so much. 

You see 2010 was the year of PURGING and 2011 was the surely the year of TRANSITION and 2012 has been my year of LIVING ON PURPOSE. But let me go back a little to September 2009 when I was told that my fibroid tumors had come back and with a vengeance. I had them removed almost 4 years prior, but they had come back more aggresively. In two months’ time I went from looking normal to looking as though I was three months pregnant. By the time I went in for my surgery on March 23, 2010, I was 220 lbs. and I looked six months pregnant. I could no longer wear my clothes and was having to shop in maternity stores. It was a painful and heart wrenching experience as I looked as though I was pregnant but was not. My uterus was so large and covered with tumors they could not see it on sonograms. And there was fear that my uterus would not heal properly from the surgery and it would prevent me from conceiving. But what I realized was that I may not have been pregnant with a natural baby but I was pregnant with promise and puprose. I  began to speak the word of God over my uterus; I anointed my womb daily and prayed a prayer of healing over my womb daily for months leading up to my surgery. I committted to using every tool I had to defeat the enemy. And I came through a two and a half hour surgery, removing 24 non-cancerous fibroid tumors with my uterus and my fertility intact. Nothing but God!

So after I came through the surgery, I did what I thought was good enough, I changed my eating habits and exercised periodically. I was able to get my weight down to 200 lbs. But I didn’t really commit to what was needed to having good health. I was to follow up four months after my myomectomy with my fertility doctor. But I was dragging my feet as I was scared of the report. But in a conversation with one of my best friends she asked had I been back to see exactly how I healed and I expressed to her my fears. And my best friend in her way….set me straight. So with her encouragement I made the appointment in February 2011. At that appointment I received good and bad news. I found out that I had healed PERFECTLY. That everything looked well and I could be able to conceive, but I also received news that I had two small tumors to grow back, they were small in size and outside my uterus but they were not threatening my fertility. I was so devastated…why? Because I was a year out of my surgery and I knew they could grow back…but really so soon! And then in March 2011, that’s when I was told about the malignant melanoma tumor on my brain by my neurologist. And I was mandated by my neurologist that I had to lose weight if we wanted to move forward with our desire to have children. He informed me that I could not carry a child with that type of fluid pressure within my body. So I called home and talked to my mother about my frustration with these reports and in that conversation she said something that struck a chord within me, she said,“ Yolanda it has to be something that you are eating that’s causing all of this and you have to lose that weight”. And that’s when it clicked in my head; I had to take control of my health. A little background: I was diagnosed with intracranial hypertension in April 2008 shortly before the death of my father. They believe that this condition is brought on by severe weight gain. It’s a condition in which my body overproduces spinal fluid and the  fluid has no place to go so it moves to my brain and causes me to have headaches, constant ringing and pressure in my ears and issues with my vision.  So after this disturbing report from the doctor about this tumor, I came to a pivotal place in my life. And I did what I knew how to do, I went into my Sanctuary, my place of refuge and I had to recall all those things I learned. I remembered in those plays and services that I participated in as a child that the central message was that Jesus was born to give me LIFE....that through his birth...I have life. Because God sent his only begotten son, Jesus Christ to earth in the form of flesh, he brought to us his love, grace and mercy and because of this I am healed. So I stood on the word of God. Today I can say that after another MRI, the tumor is still the same size it was in 2008, it was benign. In the words of my doctor, it is harmless. Because he was born, I AM HEALED. But even after this good report, I was over being sick, dealing with doctors and tests and receiving one bad report after another. It was time for some serious changes. I had to take authority over my flesh, andd  faith without works is dead!! And on February 23, 2011 I made this declaration:

"I am faced with some serious life changes. These changes are imperative if I want God's will in my life. I don't want to do it but if I want to be in his will I have to die to my flesh. I know that Christ suffered for us in the flesh. He suffered so that we might have victory over the flesh. ~\Peter 4:2 That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God.“

On that day I committed to living a healthier lifestyle. If I wanted the child that I have been so fervently been praying and desiring I had to be healthier. So I did research and found the foods that were not good for me. I had to buy better food and that meant weekly trips to Whole Foods and a higher grocery bill. And this meant budgeting and setting different priotities. I also began to exercise on a consistent basis. I reduced my food intake, became mindful of the types of food I ate and increased my activity. I had to remove that old mindset. I became committed to living the best life that God had for me. I had to show my flesh that my spirit was stronger! And I must say looking back over the process I have truly transitioned into a different person. If you look at the pictures and see where I was in 2009 and where I am now in 2012. It’s an amazing transition.  I look and feel better than I did in my 20’s. He made me over again!

Not only has there been a physical change, there has been a spiritual transition. In this process, I have grown closer to God and developed a relationship with him that has given me new life. And in this I have had the desire to share what God has done in me with others and that’s where “The Sanctuary Retreat” weekend was birthed on November 11, 2011. I had this spa weekend before but this time it was different. I literally opened the book of my life and shared what I have learned and the process of redefining who I am spiritually and physically. And from what I saw God do at Chateau Élan in the lives of his people that weekend, I saw the ministry that I was created and purposed to do and I made a life changing decision. I decided that I could not just go through life anymore, getting stuck in the hum drum of life and not doing what I was called to do and that it was time to live in purpose. And on December 13, 2011 I resigned from my job as a Revenue Agent with the State of Georgia to work from home and to begin working full time on the vision God has placed in me. It is now a year from that decision and I can see God’s hand moving in my life and in The Sanctuary. If you read the blog, "I Will" God has blessed me with a better job working from home that will allow me to  be focused on doing the work for The Sanctuary. And The Sanctuary is a ministry that is touching lives, it is challenging those who are connected with it to live in purpose and God’s authority. My my my, what a journey. And I know the journey is not over, it has just begun. As I know that 2013 will be the manifestation of His promises, as I know that as I fulfill the call that God has placed on my life that no good thing will He withhold from me. As long as I keep my eyes on the kingdom, every desire of my heart He will give to me. I know this because I have seen His handiwork already.

This is why I am so committed now than ever before in my life to teach and spread the Good News of living a balanced life, spiritually and naturally. I have come to realize that you can’t fully walk in the promises if you are unbalanced. If one is more developed than the other, we are not living a whole life. We must have balance and balance means taking care of self first, and that is the natural body. Eating whole balanced meals, exercising and getting mental and physical rest.  And then we must feed our spiritual selves with whole spiritual food, taking control of this flesh and our emotion so that we can truly be about that life and that life is living in God’s will and purpose for our life. That is the essence of The Sanctuary ministry. The Sanctuary was birthed out of the pain, grief, and sickness that I experienced and God delivered, healed and set me free from. I couldn't be able to speak or testify to the miraclous power of God if I had not gone through hell.  Out of my pain my purpose was birthed. But it was not done without some serious work. That's why we have committed to these “40 days of Healing” on November 21, 2012. We are doing the work to bring healing to every area of our life so that we can truly get about that life, and that life is our Purpose Life.  And my prayer for you as we draw this year to a close is that whatever you went through this year; sickness, death, hurt, betrayal, loneliness, depression, financial issues, that you remember he was born to bring you JOY, PEACE, LOVE, LIFE, PROSPERITY and HEALING! Tis the season for you to begin to live in his promises for your life...to live that PURPOSE LIFE!

"I am come that they might have LIFE, and that they might have it more abundantly" - John 10:10

If you enjoyed this blog, please consider sharing it! 

---

The journey to purpsoe in pictures from 2009 - 2012. God is able to heal and restore.