JESSE-SHE IS HIS BELOVED
As my curls blow in the cool fall wind I peer out over the 7th floor balcony, over the levee walls out toward the vast river where several barges float carlessly upon the mighty rivers. “As long as you aint the police, come in”, yells the voice of an elderly woman filled with the kind of life that comes from just survivng the best way possible, her name is Jesse or Peaches, is what her friends call her. She lives in the high rise apartments of Cairo, IL, which primarily houses senior citizens and the mentally ill. She is accompanied buy her nephew Joe and his 6 month old baby boy, Lil Joe. It is clear in Jesse’s tone of voice and with her simple talk how much she wishes to escape the hoplessness of Cairo. I have always struggled with boldness even though deep down I hold an unexplainable courage handed down to me through my bloodline. It is my first time knocking on a strangers door much less having the oppurtunity to pray with a stranger. Jesse gave us permission to lay hands on her weary body and pray for the healing of the Lord. I am on my knees before God as my fingers clutch her meek trembling shoulder, sweat dripping down my back, because the poor woman was so cold she opened her oven to get a sweet sense of warmth. Joe stands off to the side while the cooing of innocence dreams in his chocolate colored arms. After a quick yet powerful prayer, Joe asks us to visit his sons mother in the housing projects. “Angel in apartment 302 needs prayer”, he says. We agree to visit her as we say our goodbyes leaving traces of the Holy Spirit swaying in the sweltering air of the 7th floor apartment. Only God knows if our request for healing and salvation took place but I must confess that I have never felt more alive than I did in that dark, hot apartment.
DOORWAY 524
In morning prayer they begin to pray for our next outreach. Hot Chocolate stand in the McBride housing projects. As prayer is flowing, I get a glance at the dilapidated doorway of 524. The Lord tells me to knock and ask if you can pray with whomever stands in that doorway. I had visions before but this one particular distubed me because I knew that I would not be in the McBride housing projects. I had made prior engagements, so only the rest of my ComLife family would be around. I didn’t understand why God gave me this vision if he knew I would not be able to fufill his command. Beginning to realize that I had to share this with my housemates, I was a bit angry. It is my vision God and I don’t want to share it, I want to go to doorway 524 myself. But God made it clear that it was he who was in control and I had to trust that my family would act on this command, so I reluctantly asked that they go on Gods behalf and not mine. I somewhat expected to hear how God reedmed a broken hearted person through my vision. But when the others returned they told me of a young girl, no older than 17 who had plans of going to college to be a nurse. She was a believer but was being weigthed down by the difficultes that come with being one of the very few who dream big in this small town. So God just needed us to go and incourage his daughter, to tell her that she is precious to him and that we as her brothers and sisters are here to pray for her. So we did just that (by we I mean the other ComLifers). I can’t complain the Lord was exalted none the less and I was honored to bare the vision of doorway 524.
DANCE AROUND THE WORLD WITH A MULTITUDE OF COLORS
My passion for dance burns deep. The way I feel when I dance before the Lord is unexplainable, but I want to share this gift Lord, I want to dance before your kingdom and all of its inhabitants. I thought this as the woman of the Cairo House of Prayer kneeled before me in prayer. Prophetic words and an abundance of God given visions dripped from their lips like that of dew drops from a pure white rose petal. I see you teaching children the art of worship through dance and not one of them look the same. My heart flickered with the picture of vanilla, cholate, and caramel colored little faces that trotted along to the joy of dancing for the Lord. Another one of the women spoke of me dancing around the globe and I saw myself swaying with God among the foothills of the earth. Excitement overwelmed within me because God had spoken my desire through his beloved children, my sisters. The oldest women spoke of how beautiful I will be dancing among the nations that I have recieved through my inheritance as the daughter of the Most High God, but (yes there are conditions to recieving such a gift) my heart, body, soul, faith, trust, and my finances must be kept in the palm of Jesus’ beautiful bloody hands. So I will give all of me to fulfill the command of the Lord and to aid in restoring the innocence of his children through all the nations.
Song of Solomon 2:10
“Arise, my darling, my beautiful one, and come away with me”.
