REVELATION by Tanya E. Munroe

It was all smiles, hey we've finally met
I told you basic stuff about myself
You did the same
Telephone contacts and addresses exchanged
And off we went to become acquaintances

Wow! This is great, I think I've found a friend
Hours chatting on the phone and online
Lunch dates, social outings to events
We were learning each other
At least this what we both thought

As time progressed we referred to each
other as FRIEND
But were we really friends?
There was so much we didn't like
about each other
Rather than getting closer we erected walls
Time began to reveal something beyond our words
It revealed who we really are

The smiles became fake
The conversations were meaningless
The motives were impure
The time spent together was not fellowship
but rather tolerance
The impurities of the heart were manifested
through actions
There was a revelation

We were not friends
We weren't enemies either
We were just two people who crossed each
other's path for a season and also for a reason
That reason and purpose was fulfilled
There is no need to continue beyond this point
Because such was only a burden on us both
The assignment was completed

Did I change?
I hope I did because my passion is to evolve
into becoming a better person  day by day
Did you change?
Maybe not, I am not sure
I do know that I finally learnt the
the real YOU
It was a revelation

Now what must I do?
I take this revelation of who you are
and guard my heart
I take this revelation of how you've
been treating me and I guard my life
I take this revelation of your motives
and I guard my future
I take this revelation of what you represent
and I guard my relationship with God
You were in my life only for a purpose
The apocalypse has taken place
Now I know why we have met

(This poem is copyright  by Pro Type and written by Tanya E. Munroe)

We must learn that not everyone who come into our lives are for a long period of time.  Some people only come to help us get out of the rut, others come to teach us something that we need to know for that particular time. We must cease from being so clingy and learn the purpose of the individual and thereafter release them.  Not everyone we meet is a potential friend, a potential spouse, business partner, prayer partner etc.  Sometimes we deposit into the lives of others and other times people are depositing into ours and this was the reason for meeting...nothing more.  We must learn how to fulfill the purpose and move on.  

A kind act does not mean friendship.  A welcoming smile does not mean friendship. Receiving financial assistance or a listening ear does not mean friendship.  God sends people to help us in our time of need, this does not mean that they are in our lives on a long term basis.  The same applies to you and I, we are likewise sent to assist and thereafter must learn to move on.  We become too attached to people and fail to move on.  

The above captioned poem was an inspiration after meditating on the volume of people who came into my life and the effect they had.  Not everyone was intended to be my friend, that was a description I gave them.  It was not God's intention for them to be in my life for a long time, that was my desire. What God wants is the goal attained, the assignment completed and the purpose fulfilled for His glory.  This is the revelation I received by the Spirit of God and I must say that it is life changing toward maturity and wisdom. 

ALMOST

Have your realized somethings about your life and some people who are in your life that you can no longer accommodate? Nothing negative about them or whatever it was that you were doing or entertaining - I am referring to a shift in season.  Many of us don't realize when our shift is on. Seriously, we miss it!  We were almost there and guess what happened to prevent us from experiencing the shift in our lives - FAMILIARITY. 

The familiar face, the familiar feeling or anything familiar in your life that was attached to your soul begins to draw you backwards.   I need you to realize the importance of completing your transition process toward the next level in your life or your next assignment.  Read what the Apostle Paul said, "Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus" - Philippians 3:13, 14. 

There comes a time in each person's life when there is a shift and this shift is not automatic. It is an opportunity for the individual to thrust himself/herself toward a higher level.  There are three key phrases in Paul's statement.  For you and I to be able to embrace the shift in our lives we must:

1- Realize that we are yet to apprehend.  We are not there, God is not finished with us yet and regardless of the ground covered, tests completed, trials overcame, we are still in the hands of the Potter.  One more point - none of us knows it all. We are all still in the classroom learning. 

2.  We must  forget and release ourselves.  Some attitudes and mindsets MUST change. Everything must shift. There are some trees that can tell us that a shift in season has occurred because it begins to shed its leaves. When it is autumn season trees begin to shed and at the peak of this season some trees are completely without leaves.  We must have this same kind of mindset and attitude towards our shift in life. For some of us we are going into our next season friendless, without anything familiar.  You must be willing to release yourself and forget your former life, not because it was something negative but more because it is something needed. 

3.  You must move forward and upward.  It is not you and your friend's shift. It may not be you and your spouse's shift. It is your shift in life.  You - solo, alone, by yourself....got it!  Paul said that he had to reach forward to those things which are ahead.  He had to move himself away from familiarity and embrace with effort and strength those things which were ahead of him.  This can only be accomplished when you begin to drop leaves like the tree.  The only way you are going to free yourself from the mediocre and mundane things in life is for you to release yourself from them and press forward.   No one can do this for you - you must embrace your shift. 

So many people were almost there...the next level was right before them but they failed to press toward it. They permitted those things which were behind to hinder their progress.  For something to be behind you means that you were already in the process of leaving.  Remember Lot's wife my dear reader.  She was on her way from Sodom and Gomorrah but she never made it to her destiny.  Some friends are seasonal, jobs are seasonal, places where we reside are also seasonal. Our lives are full of seasons - the purpose of seasons is for you and I to be able to discern the time in which we live; personally.  I am not referring to summer, winter, autumn and spring. I am referring to when a shift is occurring and we need to make the proper decisions to embrace what is ahead of us. 

It is time for you to stop ALMOST being able to obtain, ALMOST being able to complete,ALMOST being able to leave, ALMOST be able to execute, ALMOST being able and release yourself from familiarity and thrust yourself toward your destiny.  Is your shift on? Remember Lot's wife!