The UnCovered Backstory
When God gave me the directive to write this devotional, I was preparing for an upcoming women’s retreat that I host yearly. The women had secured the limited spots available through registration, and it was evident that they were so excited...excited to finally meet face-to-face the women of our Sista Circle whom they had grown together with through weekly Bible Study. They were excited to meet my mentor whom I had invited to come in and impart into us. And for one, she was excited to finally meet me - she joined our circle via direct invitation from me after she “happened to find your video on Soul Ties on YouTube”. We know that it wasn’t by chance but through Divine alignment that our paths intersected.
One afternoon as I was cleaning the kitchen and praying about the retreat, I said to God, “I don’t want the women to come and have just another church experience. I want them to walk away from the UnCovered Women’s Retreat with something transformational and tangible. Five years from now, if someone were to ask them what they got from my retreat, I want them to be able to immediately rattle out what You did for them and how it changed their lives.” Immediately, God said to me, “Have them to write their own devotionals.”
Oh, bet! Say less! Or, as my good friend JJ Evans would say, “When I tell you!!!” To say that I was excited would be an extreme understatement. Ask any of the sistas from our bible study circle what my favorite scripture is and they’ll tell you that it’s Deuteronomy 8:18 - “You shall remember the Lord your God, for it is He Who gives you power to get wealth, that He may confirm His covenant that He swore to your fathers, as it is this day.” So you know what I was thinking, right? The devotionals would be an avenue to get to the wealth! It would be a residual stream that would generate increase and break lack, debt and/or poverty curses. I could hardly wait to tell them the good plans that Abba had for them. I was (and still am) so honored that the Lord would choose me to lead these women into their wealthy places, or into their Virtuous Girl era.
Sis...I felt the baby that God had just breathed into my womb, leap! I stood in my kitchen with broom in hand and said yes to God’s plan. I said, “Abba, thank You! I’ll do it. I’ll coach them through to writing their own devotionals.” And He said, “I want you to do it too.” I had not planned to participate, only to show them the way but when He let me know that this was for me as well, I obliged but I had no idea what I was, in totality, saying yes to.
So as I’m standing there basking in pure joy, I realized that I had an obstacle to overcome: to convince busy, non-writing women to
become writers. I knew that the thought of authoring a book wouldoverwhelm at least two of them. So, I did what any good sister and friend would do; I lied. I told them that for the month leading up to the retreat, that I needed them to participate in a journaling exercise that would better prepare us for the retreat. I guess it was a partial lie; what I told them was partly the truth.
For a month, they blindly followed my lead. For a month, Holy Spirit did a thing in us that none of us -not even me - were expecting. The very first day, we all understood why God had given me ‘UnCovered’ for the theme of the retreat. Sis, we definitely understood the assignment. Day by day, we were becoming UnCovered from things of the past.
Old, unhealed wounds.
Unresolved traumas.
You name it, Holy Spirit was uncovering it all as we followed His leading. Each woman, a different story but with commonalities of abuse, rejection, shame and, for some, church hurt. We were uncovering and unmasking things that we didn’t realize were there because they were deeply buried within...within our souls.
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My great aunt, Ruelle Cone, was one of the first women to make millionaire status selling Mary Kay Cosmetics. In fact, she was the first Black woman in the company to achieve such an accomplishment. I love Mary Kay; specifically the TimeWise Skincare system. My love for it coupled with knowing my aunt’s success fueled my desire to be her successor in the family. The fire didn’t burn long because to make millions through Mary Kay wasn’t a part of my purpose as it had been
my aunt’s. However, I still prefer Mary Kay over almost any other skin care system that I’ve ever used. Why? Because I know that it works.
When I was a consultant, I once had this customer who claimed that the system was breaking her out; causing fine bumps all over her face. She thought that she was allergic to whatever was in the cleanser. I knew that the cleanser wasn’t breaking her out nor was she allergic to it; I knew that it was working. So, I encouraged her to keep using it for a little while longer to see what would happen. Just as I suspected, after a few days her skin cleared up completely. The cleanser was doing what it was formulated to, going beneath the surface purging dirt from the skin’s pores. The “breakout” or “allergic reaction” was actually just the skin’s surface reacting to the unseen junk that had been trapped beneath. Although the skin looked irritated for a short time, as she continued to apply the cleanser, her skin cleared up, glowing more beautifully than it had before. Hebrews 4:16 says, “For the Word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and spirit, of joints and marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” Sis, for 21 days prior to the retreat, Holy Spirit deeply pierced our souls; He discerned thoughts that we didn’t know were within us until they were provoked. The Word became our spiritual foamingcleanser, exposing the dirt and shame that had been masked by functional depression, anxiety, unforgiveness, motherhood and church hurt. Holy Spirit became the weapon that was sharper than a double-edged sword...He pierced deep. The toxic stuff came to the surface, allowing us to confront what had been covered. Day by day, as we continued to apply the Word to our souls, we became cleansed and completely UnCovered.
Now is your time to be set free. Now is the time to journey to your prophetic well where Goel is waiting for you. It is not by happenstance that you have this book in hand; God does nothing by chance but by divine alignment and assignment. Your steps have been ordered, You are aligned. Accept the assignment. Now is your time to get UnCovered.
