My Spiritual Vertex

October 4, 2025 ~ Birthday Eve

As I sit at a beautiful dual firepit, watching the flames, I realize that the wind is blowing them to the right. Approaching 63 young years of life, it took me such a long time to get serious about getting more things right...not all of them😩, but more! I am, and will always be a work-in-progress. Perfection is not the goal, never has been, but being intentional about being a better human being; a better person in all the arenas I'm blessed to be a part of, is continually in progress. In that, I'm thinking of growth---spiritual, not these added AARP pounds. 🤣 It didn't take the cute and fuzzy, pretty and perky experiences to bring about change, it took pain, disappointment, hurt, loss--all packaged as lessons that sparked it. More than anything, it was divorce, learning the true 'faces' of some folk, and the loss of my sweet parents...

As I shared with a few people recently, my next tattoo would be a symbol of the intersection of strength and surrender. For it was my daddy's passing that taught me strength. I never really thought I'd want to live on a planet where he didn't exist. God gave me the strength to know it was doable and to understand and accept that it was His plan, not mine. Next up, my mama's passing taught me the importance of surrender. I couldn't fix what I was watching deteriorate. I had to surrender her situation to God. He gave me the strength that I received from daddy's passing to humbly surrender, yet still praying, believing, and trusting. It took a while, but nevertheless, it was a powerful lesson.

Tonight I'm thinking of Mama's strength and once again, I'm specifically thanking God for being her daughter. Yes, the woman who was lying in the snow and prayed to God to show her how to maneuver to get up, to somehow stand on slippery ice. The woman who I still have a video of trying to conquer physical therapy while being very frail; yet determined not to give up. Yes, Betty Sue, the woman who was afraid of so many things, but managed to sleep in the same bed where daddy passed in, and lived alone. As for my daddy, he exhibited peace and surrender every day...yes, every day! It wasn't much that he stressed over...he was surrendering when we didn't recognize it for what it was. Evander, the epitome of cool and surrender because he exuded an innate, humble, and peaceful strength. My parents...the culmination of everything that I'm so blessed and proud to be...

What I've learned from reflecting on their character, and what it taught me is that I find so much peace (again and again) when I arrive at the inspection point. In this season of unbelievable happenings, surmounting shifts in some relationships, disappointments, revelations, etc., God has never left, nor will He ever leave the throne!! That throne of grace is a visual imagery of a spiritual and divine vertex---the point where two given lines intersect. This is where I find the balance of having strength in the unknowns and making a somewhat unsettling (yep, unsettling...always real talk here) decision at first to surrender it all. Both lines lead to getting back to a place of trust---Trusting God only, that is...

So, in the mesmerizing view of these beautiful flames, I challenge you to find yours, too--your spiritual vertex-- and you'll experience a fresh exhale of peace, trust, and a deeper, more intimate love for The Father. For Psalms 91:2 beautifully reads:

I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”

Yes, curl up and rest at the center point where your faith in God meets strength and surrender. And know that you'll have to find that point again, and again, and again---It's called Life. 🙏🏽

Peace & Blessings,

Lisa C-S