Don't Leave Home Without It!

What is your covering?  Right off the top we know that God is our ultimate covering.  He is Lord over all!  But as a married woman in ministry I am learning that my “covering” is my guy.  There was a time that I would not have liked or wanted to live that out.  However, being a female representative for Christ and a wife means this is key to God’s blessings as I serve Him!

My guy--old-fashioned man that he is--really enjoys having his girl home.  As the Lord began to open up more ministry opportunities this meant that I would have to be gone more frequently.  Believe me, I love to be home, especially being one who works all week.  But as requests to speak began to come more frequently I sensed that the guy was not very approving especially when there would be overnight stays.  I sensed and heard some grumbling and I knew that we had to go tete-et-tete!

Television is his evening routine spent with Bill and then Sean but I asked that he would please turn it off and hear my heart.  I then began to ask some questions like “Do you think that God uses my story to help, encourage and bring others to Christ?” He admitted he does and that he has for a time!  You see I have always done Bible study groups with teen girls and women which he has observed over the years.  Not to mention my program on air every day.  I then reminded him that being a Stonecroft speaker means that I would be asked to speak all over our state (and bordering states).  Not to mention the other speaking events I would be doing.  It was at this juncture that I said to my guy, "If I don’t have your blessing, there is no way that I will have an anointing to go forward, if you can't agree that this was where God was taking me then I would lay it all down."  You see, I realized I cannot go forward if my husband disagrees with me doing so and it is vital for me to be under his covering, not out from under it “doing my own thing.”

After a bit guy paused and then said that he thought it was important to continue what I was doing but he also gave me some very sound advise and for the fist time I truly felt he was protecting me not restricting me.  (This was quite a breakthrough for us!)  Like not traveling to the Dakotas via automobile in the winter months, that makes sense!  I knew he was lovingly showing his care for me!  But the long and short of it was he had released me to “go”!

I was writing this on a plane en-route to an event in Platteville, WI where I would be keynotes at an all day women’s seminar!  This however did not come without some difficulties!  While preparing for this event I was overwhelmed at one point because of all these things that kept coming up out of nowhere!  The cold the guy acquired was over in three days while it stayed with me for ten.  And,  during the end of that time I somewhere along the line contracted conjunctivitis, not fun when you are praying and evaluating your talk!  Not to mention that it affected my voice for work.  Not only that but the weekend before I was to leave saw my husband admit himself to ER for chest pains (this is one of the healthiest guys!) where we suddenly had a pile of concerns to deal with.  Although, as we prayed I sensed God’s peace in it all.  I was ready to cancel out on the event but he settled, was put on a medication and sent home the next day.  Whew, Lord, what in the world was going on?

The rest of the week leading up to the Wisconsin event found me living with a grumbly man. The night before I departed I had to once again go tete-et-tete as we discussed our meeting over a year ago and the fact that he had released me to do this!  (He was feeling better and had been working that week)  I mentioned that as we prayed I knew things were going to be alright and he relaxed a bit and agreed but I am sure that there was a lot of uncertainty as to what the future was going to hold going on in his mind!

I remembered Moses' request that God's presence be with him or else he (Moses) would not go forward to do as God had called him:

Exodus 33:15, "Then Moses said to him, "If Your presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here."

Moses knew he needed God's presence to accomplish the daunting task set before him and God certainly let His presence be known and Moses' face was radiant from his God encounter.

Now God really does show up in the eleventh hour.  I called my husband before I left and asked for his blessing upon the Saturday event and I asked him to pray for me especially during the times I would be speaking and he surprised me by saying that he would and that he loved me!  I can only tell you that it is much better to leave home knowing you not only have the Lord’s blessing but also your husband’s.  Isn’t God good!

Friend, don’t just make sure that your bases are covered, remember not to leave home uncovered!