Spiritual Gestation

Pregnancy is a wondrous thing – you experience the growth of life inside you – second by second, minute by minute, hour by hour, day by day, week by week, month by month. Your entire self undergoes miraculous changes that allow for a fully matured human being to emerge 9 to 10 months after conception. In fact, the period of time it takes from conception to birth is known as GESTATION. During gestation, there are countless events taking place that lead to the grand finale of holding a brand new baby. But did you know the pregnancy of a child is not the only time in our lives we experience gestation? 

Let me share a quick story…

On Monday, June 26, 2017, I began a new job. I was excited yet terrified at the same time. The position and the industry were new to me and I was out of my comfort zone after being with my previous employer for eight years. Even though I was essentially starting over, I was excited to try something new. And for a couple of months, the exhilaration of performing duties outside my normal abilities helped overshadow the distress I was beginning to feel in my new position. Inevitably, the awareness that the job wasn’t a good fit for me began to take hold of my initial excitement and that’s when things got hard. I don’t mean hard like the work was hard. I knew in my spirit the position I held was just not for me. The company wasn’t for me. The people I worked with weren’t for me. It became a Monday through Friday struggle just to get in a positive mindset before going to the office. I felt this huge burden within me whenever I drove up to the building. The energy in the office didn’t align with me. So, I started applying for another job. Again, I have to stress to y’all that it was a difficult period. As hard as I worked, it seemed I couldn’t work well enough for my boss. The anxiety and stress I was suppressing in order to remain positive was manifesting as extreme fatigue by the time I got home and a loss of appetite. I wasn’t happy. My professional confidence waned, I felt alone in my personal life (on top of the other personal issues I had going on). There were some pretty dark moments when I broke down and felt pretty close to giving up. It was during a night of exceptional wallowing that I cried out in frustration to God and was immediately admonished with His response “You think I don’t know what you need?”

BUT GOD! That question shut me up real quick, Y’all! Of course God knows what I need! Of course He is orchestrating every moment so those needs can be met! I knew this deep down but my self-pity wanted to question the Faithfulness of God because I was in the REQUIREMENT of MY FAITHFULNESS.

Something in me shifted after that point. I began to see the job I was in as necessary to a vital growth in me. There were lessons to be learned. Humility to embrace. I realized the period of discomfort I was in NEEDED to happen in order for God to fulfill His Promise in the next phase of my life. Like a light being turned on, I got it! 

My Spirit was in GESTATION.

It was at the 6-month mark of my gestation that I received spectacular news – I was being interviewed for two separate positions! I learned shortly after I was not chosen for either job but regardless, I rejoiced and glorified God because He was working. I just wasn’t ready yet. There were 3 months left until my spirit was “full term”. I cannot make this up or exaggerate it, on March 26, 2018 – EXACTLY 9 MONTHS TO THE DAY OF JUNE 26, 2017 – I transitioned into the Promise God had been growing me for. It was like coming home. The place, the people, the work – I get to the office early and I’ve happily stayed late when needed. Now, there were several other important events that took place during my Spiritual Gestation but those stories are for later…

Beloved, rest assured that God will put your spirit in gestation when He needs to perform transformation within you. There is nothing you can do to resist or escape the gestation. What I learned during my period is TRUST in HIM truly becomes the quintessential requirement of you. Never question His Purpose or His Ways. Praise Him and Rejoice and Glorify Him even when you want to bemoan your circumstances. He placed you in a place of supplication and growth for a reason and if you TRUST HIM through it, He will bring you to His Promise. It Is Worth The Process! I thank God for my period of gestation and my birth into NEW. It has changed my life, changed me, and even changed the people around me. 

I love y’all. Be good to yourselves. Be good to others.