In the Fullness of God's Pace

Life has a rhythm. For years, I moved to my own beat - chasing purpose, trying to find my pace, and keeping step with the world around me. Days blurred into nights, the noise never stopped, and still the beat went on. I had always believed, always prayed, always sought God - but this time, I truly let Him step in and take the lead. I opened my heart and soul completely, and in that surrender, He changed my rhythm, softened my heart, and transformed me into a women walking in the steady peace of His perfect pace.

When Surrender Become Strength

It began with me FINALLY SURRENDERING fully - stepping out of being a lukewarm christian and into become a courageous, strong women of faith. God had to take almost everything I thought I needed in my life - the people, the plans, the comfort - until all that was left was Him. I had to give my family to Him completely, trusting that His hands were stronger than mine. I started with a prayer. It started with step forward - sitting with a therapist who walked with me in Christ. It started with taking a chance and said yes to Sisterhood Story - a gathering that surrounded me with a sisterhood I will never forget and never want to live without. It brought me into a true community of God of God loving women who welcomed me with

open arms and hearts full of grace. In that sacred space, I began to see what genuine faith, vulnerability, and courage looked like. That weekend became the moment I stopped holding back and started walking boldly in the fullness of God's pace and peace.

At that retreat, my life changed dramatically in just three days - a transformation I never expected and didn't even know was possible. The Holy Spirit met me there in a way I had never experienced before. He didn't just touch me; He began to live through me. I went to that retreat simply because I knew I needed and had to be there, but I had no idea of the gifts God was about to pour into my life. In those few days, something within me shifted. Surrounded by women who prayed with power, worshiped with freedom, and loved without judgement, I felt walls I didn't even know I had begin to fall. I realized how long I had been living halfway - showing up for God but still holding control. Through tears, laughter, and honest conversations, God began to whisper to my heart that is was time to let go. Time to trust Him completely. That retreat became the doorway to a deeper faith - one rooted not in fear or performance, but in surrender and identity of His daughter.

Grace Through a Vessel, Strength Through Sisters in Christ

During the Sisterhood Story weekend, God met me in a way I will never forget. A woman I had never met before, who was there with her ministry Experience Elle to preach and bring the Word, spoke words over me that only the Lord could have given her. She spoke directly to the prayers I had whispered in secret, the ones only God new, even from my childhood. Her words pierced my heart and brought me to my knees. In that moment, God began to uncover the pain I had carried for so long - the wright of abandonment, the wounds from my parents, family, friends and the traumas of my youth that had followed me into adulthood, shaping choices and mistakes I long struggled to forgive myself for. Through her, He revealed what I had been holding onto - the shame, the guilt, the silent battles that had kept me from true growth. And in that sacred moment of surrender, He set me free. The shame lifted, the chains broke, and I finally felt the peace of complete deliverance - fully given to Christ, my Lord and Savior, who had forgiven me long before I ever learned to forgive myself.

In that sacred space, Tiffany Lassiegne - a woman of deep faith and a powerful spiritual gift - met me in my brokenness. She prayed with me, stood beside me, and reminded me that God's grace is never something we have to earn; it's something we are invited to receive. Through her obedience and compassion, God showed me how close He had been all along, even in the moments I felt most unseen.

That weekend became more than a retreat - it was divine appointment. I walked away changed, carrying a renewed strength through my sisters and a deeper awareness of God's presence in every part of my story.

From Deliverance to Declaration

Later that same day after everything God had done in me, I knew he was calling me to take the step - to make outward what He had already done within. I had been baptized once before, back in grade school at my grandmother's Baptist church. Back then, I understood it as something sacred, but I didn't yet grasp the depth of what it meant to truly die to my old self and rise in Christ. This time was different. This time, I knew it was real. - this time felt divine. This time, I knew it was a renewal - perfect alignment with God's timing not anyone else's - a recommitment of my heart, my life, and my promise to Him; I hadn't planned it, and I didn't even imagine that baptism would find me that weekend. Yet something spiritual was stirring within me - the Holy Spirit guiding me, leading me into full surrender. It was a sacred act of obedience, just between me and Him.

My heart was still tender from the encounter, but it was also steady, anchored in a new kind of peace. When I stepped into the water, it felt like stepping into His promise. Every fear, every heavy thing I had carried, was left behind as I went under. And when I rose, I felt the presence of grace wrap around me - not as something to simply rest upon me, but as something alive within me, breathing new life into my soul.

Baptism wasn't just a ritual; it was my declaration. It was me saying, "I'm His- fully, freely, forever." The same God who met me in my brokenness was now marking me with His wholeness. I came up from the water not just cleaned, but commissioned - ready to walk in His pace, His purpose, and His unshakable love.

Covenant of the Heart

The morning after my baptism, the air felt different - lighter, almost fragrant with peace. I was though Heaven had lingered through the night, waiting for what would come next. That morning wasn't just another sunrise; it was the beginning of a covenant. Together with my sisters, we gathered once more, hearts still tender from all God had done, ready to make our vows - not out of duty, but out of love.

We called it our ceremonia, a sacred space where we would each write our vows to the Bridegroom of our souls. Pens met paper, and words poured out like worship - promises of faithfulness, surrender, and devotion. We were preparing for our wedding day, one not marked by earthly garments or gold, but by purity of heart and the radiant nearness of His presence.

Afterward came what was the reception - a celebration of joy and sisterhood. We embraced, and rejoiced in the love that had bound us not only to Christ but to one another. It was beautiful beyond words - a glimpse of the marriage supper of the Lamb, a foretaste of eternity.

The vows became to me a promise of promises - something I still hold close to my heart even now months later. There is no perfect in them, but there is a perfecting through them. Each day, I learn to live out what I wrote, and when I fall short what I promised Him, I return quickly - seeking forgiveness and finding grace. Through that grace, I'm becoming more faithful, more steadfast, more like the bride He is shaping me to be.

This covenant is alive - not a memory, but a continual becoming. Every moment of repentance, every act of love, every whispered prayer draws me deeper into the heart of the One who loved and knew me first. The Bridegroom had called, and I had answered - fully, freely, forever.

When God Speaks Through His Word

The weekend had already felt like Heaven had touched earth, but there was one more moment - one final whisper from God that would seal it all. The next morning, I walked out to the beach, Bible in hand, the sound of the waves carrying a peace that words can't hold. It was just me and Him. No music, no crowd, no ceremony - only the rhythm of the ocean and the presence of my Lord.

I remember standing there, holding my Bible close, and asking out loud, "Where do I begin, Lord? Where do You want to take me? Do I start from the beginning?" My heart was open, and I lifted my bible in hand toward Heaven. Then, with my eyes closed, I placed my hands inside the pages of the Bible and opened it - letting Him lead me. When I looked down, my eyes fell directly on Deuteronomy 30:11-14.

The words leapt from the page like they had been written just for me:

"This command I am giving you today is not too difficult for you, and it is not beyond your reach. It is not kept in heaven, so distant that you must ask, 'Who will go up to heaven and bring it down so we can hear it and obey?' It is not kept beyond the sea, so far away that you must ask, 'Who will cross the sea to bring it to us so we can hear it and obey?' no, the message is very close at hand; it is on your lips and in your heart so that you can obey it."

In that moment, I knew God was answering me. He was Saying, I told you I'm here, and I've always been here." The message wasn't far away - it was already within me. That Scripture confirmed everything I had walked through and everything He was calling me into: obedience, faithfulness, forgiveness, and trust. It was His assurance that I could walk in His Word daily, that His commands were not too hard, and that His presence would always be near.

As I continued reading through Deuteronomy, more promises unfolded. He showed me that if I remained obedient, there would be change - not only in me, but in my family and in generations to come, just as the women who spoke to me a few days prior had said. Then I came to Deuteronomy 31:8: "Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord will personally go ahead of you. He will be with you; He will never fail you nor abandon you."

Those words pierced my heart. They were His personal vow to me - that unlike anyone else who had ever left or failed me, He never would. He was going before me, walking with me, and sending me into my new life with His strength.

I wrote in my notes that morning: "Just as the water of the ocean washed over me, the Lord renewed my soul. The old one was carried away with the tides, and I rose in His strength - restored, forgiven, and made new."

That beach became holy ground. It was deliverance and commissioning all that once - the end of one chapter and the beginning of another. I walked away from that shore knowing that my life was no longer my own. I had been met, loved, and sent by the Bridegroom Himself. And from that day forward, I carried His Word not just in my hands, but in my heart - the living covenant between us.

That moment sealed everything. The rhythm of my life changed. The Beat of my life changed. The beat still goes on - but now, it's not my own. It's God's. His perfect pace, steadier, full of peace and purpose. I no longer move to the world's rhythm; I move to His heartbeat.

Where Grace Leads

Now I live each day in the pace He has for me. His grace - listening, trusting, and walking in step with His Spirit. The same God who met me on the beach, the same God who has been with me all along, still meets me in every moment. He reminds me that He is alive within us, guiding, transforming, and calling each of us closer. My life is living proof that He still speaks, still delivers, and still breathes new life into those who turn sand say, "Here I am, Lord."

So even in the breaking, He is building. Surrender it ALL - every fear, every failure, every wound, every person who hurt or abandoned you - and choose forgiveness, because in releasing them, you make room for Him to restore you completely.

And He will restore the time. Just as he promised in Joel 2:25, He redeems the years you thought you were lost, showing you they were never wasted- they were shaping you for this very moment. So keep moving forward, forward, forward with the Lord.

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