The Trip (part 4) Flying below the radar

This is another installment of "The Trip."

Part 4
I was so excited to finally be back in Maryland for the Wonder Woman conference. I had attended it once before back in April, but just like Beth Moore's conferences, no two Wonder Women Weekends are ever the same. I'm beginning to see that this is absolutely necessary if the conference leader, in this case Iyanla Vanzant is led by the Holy Spirit.

This conference was small(only 50-60 women) and very experiential which is absolutely fantastic for really digging in deep. Now my strategy for experiential stuff is to pretty much "go with the flow" of things. I don't want to call attention to myself in any way. I just want to be part of the group, learn the lesson and move on. My friend calls it "skating." I like the term "flying below the radar."

Now all this is fine, unless of course the facilitator is being led by the Holy Spirit and the HS has a Word/lesson for you. While I had managed to stay in the background for most of the conference, I was not so lucky during one of the last activities. Now I've got to add that I've always been a good student. I like to please the teacher. So being singled out for NOT "getting it" is pretty much my worst nightmare.

And of course, you can guess what happened. I was caught by Iyanla herself NOT doing the exercise the right way. . . not that there was a wrong way. . oh goodness, I don't know quite how to describe it. Let's just say I got "singled out" and Iyanla stopped the group while she took time to work one-on-one with me.

I wish I could really describe the feeling I had at the time. It was a mixture of awe (after all it was Iyanla Vanzant) fear, embarrassment and I'm sure bunch more I just can't articulate right now. The point being, I was not flying below the radar. I was right in the path of the missile, so to speak.

It's funny how the Holy Spirit works that way. Just when we think we have everything under control. Boom! We're right in the path of the storm. . .no longer able to hide, but having to stand firm and learn the lesson that we need to learn. It reminds me of Psalm 139:

Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?

If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.

If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,

even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast.

If I say, "Surely the darkness will hide me
and the light become night around me,"

even the darkness will not be dark to you;
the night will shine like the day,
for darkness is as light to you.

As for me, I survived. And in fact, if the truth be told although I didn't LIKE the attention focused on me, I did finally "get it"--something I'm not sure I would have done if I had just "skated" by.

So here's big shout out to Iyanla Vanzant who called me out in front of a conference full of women. Thank you so much for taking the time for this wayward, somewhat resistant student. Your diligence and attention to the Holy Spirit provided me with an astonishing experience--an experience which has allowed me to spread my wings and soar instead of simply flying below the radar.

And as Iyanla might say, "And So It Is."