A WOW Moment with Vicki, Anna and Rachel (Date: January 21st 2020 )

Opening Banter and Dinner Talk

We're alive. Okay. It'll be okay. And it will be the first time I've ever slept like this. Don't worry about being the last.

She's like, I'm sorry guys. It's alright. That's what happens. I shouldn't have eaten dinner beforehand. I know myself better.

You have to debate, do I want to have gas or do I want my stomach to growl? Which my stomach will growl and you'll have gas so we'll complete each other.

And I'm going to have to overhear to get all the benefits from all of that. Yeah. Listen and... Thanks for volunteering. Thank you guys. It's our gift to you. Good evening everyone and welcome to our Bible study.

Tonight we are at Wynton Baptist Church in Memphis, Tennessee as most of you already know. And I'm Vicki and tonight my co-host is Mrs. Rachel Shipley. Welcome Rachel. Welcome.

I'm in different shoes. Big shoes to fill over here.

You're the co-host tonight so you have responsibilities. Oh my goodness. Don't blow it. But tonight our guest is Miss Anna Allen. Anna has been on One Other Evening and we were at your house last time.

That was fun. We sat on the floor and then I ended up with COVID. Yeah I know.

I had to tell my boss a couple of days after that because Donovan and everyone works at Evergreen and Donovan called me and was like, Vicki tested positive for COVID. And I was like, crap. I was like, hey Angie, I was exposed to somebody.

And she was like, well just stay in your office. So I had to stay confined in my office and wear an N95. Now it's not a big deal. But you didn't get it did you? I didn't get it. Not then. I got it in September.

But it wasn't me. I don't even know where I got it. I gave it to Mercedes. I have yet to get it.

I need to get it through child birth. They only test you at the hospital if you're symptomatic. Oh, that's surprising. Yeah, we've got to run a fever. Did they make you wear a mask? Oh, I hope not. I asked him, I said, am I going to be forced to wear one?

He said, he goes, recommended. He goes, no forcing though. He said we do encourage daddies a little bit more to try and wear it as much.

Throughout labor as they can. He goes, no, we're not holding down mom. Well, he can get one of those. That's that cloth thing.

That way you won't bother him as much. That's what he wears at work because he can't stay in the mask. And I told him, I said, that'll be easy when the nurses come in. You can just throw that on and then when they leave you can pull that back down easily.

Right. Well, I'm glad you don't have to wear one.

Like, you know, you're not forced to. Could you not just like bring them for those contractions? Like, I'm going to freaking pass out.

Plus she does it with no medication. I know. I told him, I said, I could probably handle it through the first few, like,.

Like up to like six centimeters.

But then I was like, they're in transition. I mean, I couldn't even, I could barely keep my clothes on.

So I was like, they just hang on for me. Well, I have to tell you, I labored William with nothing. And because we got to the hospital so late.

And the guy said, Ms. Davis, you're nine centimeters. You know, you really don't need. I said, yes I do.

And Scott said, she's been asking for it since she got here. You better get it in her. So they come in and they lean over.

They actually give you an epidural at nine centimeters? Yeah, that's so long.

This is the end of the story. I lean over and my mother-in-law's sitting there at the time, this is before she passed. So she's sitting there and I looked at her and I said, I think my water just broke.

Because I could feel the whoosh. And she goes, don't move, don't move, don't move. So I got the epidural and they get me situated back in the bed. As soon as he walks out, they rush in with the blue table.

And I was like, wait a minute, he said it could take about five to ten minutes before it kicks in. They said, Ms. Davis, you don't have five to ten minutes. That's what we were trying to tell you. And then, thank goodness, they said, where's the dad?

I was like, yes, he's.

Outside smoking. We have to wait! Somebody go get the dad! The first push.

Wow, you're lucky. I know, but the thing was that the laboring part of it was the hardest part, I think. I probably could have went ahead, but then when William popped out nine pounds, I was like, no, I couldn't have done that.

And baby goes, wee!

I hear all these stories, I'm like, oh my gosh.

We're made for it. That's what our bodies are supposed to be, honey. I'm a wimp when it comes to babies. I really am, though.

Okay, so here's, like, this is the extent of it. But this is the extent of it. When I was in nursing school at Babbage College, um, granted, I'm not a nurse, but when I was in school, I had my AP2 lab, and we did blood typing, which is figuring out what types of blood and doing all this stuff, and we had to do our own blood typing for this lab.

We had to prick our own fingers. I was the only one who could not do it. I had to get my professor to do it, and it was like, I said, I was literally myself to do it, and so I asked my teacher, I said, can you please prick my finger, and he goes, yeah,.

So we, like, I was the only one in my class.

That was just a sign right there.

That I shouldn't, you know, be a nurse.

Yeah, so that's just, when I say I can't handle pain, I don't like inflicting pain on myself. So there you go. Learn more about. I told you. Can you see her stressing out in class? Yes, I can. Well, I can't, no.

Maybe I did this up too much. I just did it real fast. I couldn't. I couldn't. I psyched myself.

Do your neighbor's finger. I'm sorry. I'll do, I'll, can I have some? I couldn't even get somebody else to do it.

Oh, boy. Yeah, the more you know. When you do get pregnant, we're going to do a lot of praying when you go into labor. I'm just going to talk to Rachel.

Because, I mean, she did 40 hours. We're going to get you a new one. I need some help.

Get me the drugs. I'm going to be like that guy. Well, I mean, you know, because my daughter,.

She labored forever and pushed and pushed and pushed. And Rachel got so excited because she took photos. Right, I remember that. And she goes, Oh, we can see your head. We can see your head. And what did Wesley say?

Wesley goes,.

She goes, That's awesome. Can you just reach in and pull her out? Get her out. The nurse was standing right there. She goes, No, Mama, that's not how that works.

Just when you are, she'll be out. She ended up having to have a cesarean. What? She had to fill up a barrel and everything. It was a hot mess.

It was an all day thing. But anyways, now that we're done talking about childbirth and stuff, I hope we have not lost anybody. We do have wonderful Anna Allen with us here tonight. And she has been, we started on COVID.

Wow, that was rapid. Talk about squirreling. Yeah.

So true. How long have you been done? Thank goodness the phone hasn't been turned on the whole time because we've been talking about all kinds of stuff. That will stay private. Yes. That's what Girl Chat's for, right?

That's why this is our Bible study. We turn the phone on when we meet. This is appropriate. I just had to do some... It's okay. Everything's good. You two are a mess. I had no idea what I was getting myself into.

Proverbs 16:9 and Planning for God's Direction

So anyways, Anna, you have a verse for us tonight that I think is so appropriate for so many things that's going on. People are fanatic right now. Some people are running around like chickens with their heads cut off.

If you get on social media, people are just crazy. It's so hard being a... I'm not going to say it's hard being a Christian. During this time, it's hard as a Christian to sit back and just... There are days I just sit back and just shake my head and it's like, are you not understanding?

Do you not understand what's going on in this world, in this sphere that we live on? You know? So anyways, Anna, we've already gone over what everybody's role is tonight. So Anna... So Anna, what is the verse you've chosen for this evening?

It is Proverbs 16, 9.

And Miss Rachel, would you read.

The scripture, please? Yes. The mind of man plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps. So why did you pick this?

So for me, I've really been focusing on and struggling with God's plan for my life. Like, who hasn't? Everybody's like, oh, I just need to know God's plan for my life, and you know, all this stuff. Because we want direction.

We need a path to go down. Well, especially me. I'm very type A personality. I have to have a plan. Your personality will work like that. Yes, and so I'm very much like that. And with this past year, I went back to school to finish up pre-reqs prior to applying to the radiology program, or like x-ray school at school.

So I had to go through all that, and then I applied for the program. The cut-off date is February 15th. Out of those, all of the applicants that they have for the program, they'll like pick 30, like the highest scoring students.

Out of that 30, they'll interview those people, and then they'll pick 20 to go through the program. And so I've just really been, even like the last few years before Donovan finished school, I knew that I wanted to go back to school because I didn't like not just, I didn't want to be like stuck where I was, like where I work.

And so I knew I wanted to go back to school and do all of that. So I was really just trying to figure out a plan for my life. And this last year, you know, I've done all my pre-reqs. I've applied for the program.

Now I just have to wait. And that's very frustrating. Well, because even this year, like my brother's getting married in May, and then we have my Aisha, like my brother gets married May 1st, Aisha and Jeremiah get married that Sunday.

So I have two weddings in one week, and then it's like our anniversary month in April, and then we have women's retreat, and then my mom wants to go to Cleveland, and so I'm like still trying to plan all these things, but I can't because I have jury duty in May.

That's been pushed back since last April because of COVID. And then I don't know if I get into the program when school's going to start. So it's just very overwhelming, but however, the scripture says a man's heart plans his way, but the Lord determines his steps.

And so that was just really, it was convicting for me because I'm like, I have no control over what happens, and I don't like that, to be frank. And like, and I'm reading other verses and Proverbs, and it talks about like the wise man will, you know, plan, and like it's good to plan and everything like that, but the Lord determines his steps, and it's frustrating.

Because like I said, I'm very type A. I like to have a plan, and I don't like talking to other people who are not type A because.

They just can't get their ducks in a row, and it's.

Just very, it's a struggle for me.

They live on the whim. And I can't do that.

That's not me. Me personally. Like, if you do that, that's fine. That's you. You do you, but me personally, I cannot function that way. And so with that Scripture, it just really, like I said, it just really convicted me.

So I'm like, no matter what happens, it is for God's glory. Like all, this actually leads me to my Scripture that I picked out. This is a supplemental Scripture. Which is? It's Romans 8, 28 through 30.

If you want to get there. I'll let you guys turn and get there. Romans 8, 28 through 30.

Go, go, go. Am I going the wrong way? Oh. I already fell. You fell? Yeah. I was that kid. I was like, oh my gosh. This is too much pressure.

So Romans 8, 28 through 30. We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God, those who were called according to His purpose. For those He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, so that He may be the first born among many brothers.

And those He predestined, He also called. And those He called, He also justified. And those He justified, He also glorified. So going back to verse 28, it says, we know that all things work together for the good of those who love God.

And then you follow down, those who are called according to His purpose. Not your purpose. His purpose. His plan. I don't know, you were talking about in today's age, being a Christian and just with all the stuff that's happening now with COVID and we have a new president in office and then you have the Capitol.

All the stuff that has happened here recently is very overwhelming and it's just I keep telling Donovan, I'm just like, I'm just waiting for Jesus to come back. We'll be better off. I'm just tired of dealing with all this mess.

I know it's kind of, I want it now. I'm going to shout out to.

Kaylee real quick because Pastor Josiah is teaching on Revelation right now in his.

Sunday night Bible study and.

So we've been going through the different seals and stuff like that.

When he taught on the locusts and the description of the locusts, like they're going to have hair and faces and stuff. Kaylee was stressing out so bad.

She was like, are we going to be here when that happens? And she was like, because of what?

I've been so hard. She was like,.

If Jesus doesn't take me with him before the locusts get here,.

That's why you got to get right. So you don't have to have the same hat.

That's what I told Josiah. I said, if there's going to be.

Anything that drives anyone in that class to obedience, it's going to be.

The locusts with the face and the hair.

That just gives me so much tears. It was so funny.

Sweet, Kaylee. But even with all of that stuff, all of the fears that just everybody has about the future, I find myself finding comfort just by meditating on Scripture and just having hope that Jesus is coming, like he is coming.

I get more hope thinking of what is after this life. There will be no more tears. There will be no more pain. There won't be sleep, which I'm kind of bummed about. There's not going to be nighttime. You're not going to get sleepy.

Sleep is my pastime on earth. I don't know what we're going to eat. It seems like we're going to eat a lot of fish. I don't know. Or vegetables. Because there's not going to be any death, so we can't have any meat.

We can't have any meat. Brother Jeff won't be able to have his pork chops.

Do you hear that, Brother Jeff? Are you watching? He's determined he's going to get pork chops. Oh, okay. Well, he'll just be.

He'll get it. Oh, my gosh. Just go ahead and kill him again.

I'm sorry. Kill him again. What's the next verse you have? It kind of goes.

Along, like these supplemental verses kind of go along with each other. The next one is Galatians 5 .25. I just want to listen to this. Yeah. Since we live by the Spirit, we must also follow in the Spirit.

Oh. And so, it kind of goes back with, like, according to His purpose. It's not about us. Dana, Snead, and I, and I've been thinking about this verse for a couple of days, and I thought I found it today.

It's in Proverbs, but I cannot remember exactly what it said, so I don't really want to put words into a mouth, but it was about basically making God's desires your desires and not the other way around.

Because a lot of the time we're just focused on me, me, me, me, me. This is what I want. It's not about the big picture. You're looking at, here's the timeline. You have a timeline, and you're only seeing this little bitty dot over here and not seeing the rest of the stuff that has to happen.

And so, like I said, these scriptures were very convicting to me just because, like I said, I'm a planner, and having to wait and do God's plan, but in the end, it will benefit me more. Like, I can't see the whole picture.

The Sovereignty of God and Contentment in His Plan

Yeah, you know, because if you don't stay on that path and.

Follow where He's leading you to go and you veer off, you know, it's not fun.

No. I mean, this reminds me a lot of just the sovereignty of God, though, because if you are His child, He overrules. I think that's what I thought of with the first verse that we did, the one in Proverbs, that you can have, like, you can plan out your thoughts, you can plan out what you want to do next and stuff, but anything that's made a decision that's made outside of His purpose for you, which is glorifying Himself and then He's going to put you, which is a good thing, but it can be really hard for us to face those facts, but He'll, because of His sovereignty, determine where you're going in that.

So, a lot of times you could plan out your career or whatever it is, family, moving, I don't know, just all kinds of stuff, and that doesn't seem to work out somehow, some kind of way, and that can be hard for us, because it's like, but that's what I've always wanted to do, like, and then it's like, no, that's not what the Lord wants you to do, and that's hard to face sometimes, but I don't know.

Because we did have Dana on here, and she did. Sorry, Dana. No, it's a pre recording, so I can't talk about it.

I was going to tell you, you told me that y 'all did a.

Pre-recorded, but I've been looking to see for it to come on there, but it hasn't.

We haven't had to use it yet. Well, going back off of what you had said about, like, when we make plans for ourselves and then we get upset, because it's like, well, this is God's plan, like, us planning families, or, you know, if you remember when you met me, however many years ago, that was my plan.

Remember what we thought marriage was going to be like? Ha ha! So, yeah, that's funny. So, that was y 'all's plan. Yeah, so, but this is what I was going to do. I was going to graduate high school, which I had already had that checked off.

I was going to go to school for nursing, graduate, get married, then have kids. I graduated high school, didn't finish nursing school, got married, and haven't done the other things yet. So, it was not, my plan did not go accordingly, because like we talked about, and like what the scripture says, God will determine your steps.

Not you.

I never in a million years thought I would marry a pastor. I didn't marry a pastor. I married a teacher. I mean, that was his career that we went into with teaching, and that was how we set out our whole life.

I mean, that was how we would be like, oh, you're going to get summers off, and that's going to be great. And you think the teacher world is just going to be so perfect. It's a hot mess. Hot mess. Much stressful job.

Kudos to teachers. Doing virtual learning right now.

You know, because I talked to your husband on a mission trip one time, and it was several years ago, and I asked him, I said, what are you going to start preaching? And he goes, I don't think that's the plan.

I jokingly asked him when we got married, or we were engaged, his dad had gotten off the phone with somebody. He had to do a counseling appointment and stuff, and he was just really stressed out about it.

And I just kind of smiled at Josiah and I said, could you ever do that? Like, could you ever? And he goes, no. He goes, I would never want to. He was like, that's terrible.

Right. So you say, son, if you knew. Anyways, surprise! Right.

But he, I mean, I remember it was in the fall, I don't remember how long ago, while we're doing this now, but he just could not shake it. He loves teaching, and that is definitely a spiritual gift of his, and it's a passion.

And he, even in the county school, he did a really good job with it. He loves teaching, though. That is his passion, though. When you teach in public school, he was a Spanish teacher, but because of how broken their home lives are and stuff, he was more of a counselor than he was a...

Exactly. And that, he, that's not what he wanted to do, especially because, well, working for Shelby County schools, he wanted to point them to what they needed to hear, but you can't do that. He had to limit how often he could bring up Scripture.

There were a few times he got to throw it in there. But he was like, he goes, I cannot go the rest of my life without not teaching this. And he goes, I'm meant to be a pastor, and he goes, I can't ignore that anymore.

I said, alright, that's what we're doing!

Get ready! I saw that way, way long time ago. But see, everyone told.

Me that, because when I went on the women's retreat and I was talking about that, I was like, I'm a little overwhelmed. I never imagined myself in that position of, like, I knew,.

I wanted to... Of being a pastor's wife?

Yeah, I wanted to walk alongside my husband in whatever he did, but I just, I, I don't know. I see what pastor's families go through. It's a huge call. I mean, you have the abilities. I know, but all the women told me they were like, especially women that had counseled me, like, going through our engagement and stuff, they were like, ooh, it's coming, Rachel.

And I was like, why can't it be coming?

Because I'm over here in teacher world, like, we're going to be a little teacher family. JK.

So, so it's just, it's funny how that works out. Again, like I said before we started this, why do people just not see this?

Because I had to figure that out.

In my own time. Or the Lord had to.

Make it obvious, yeah, it's like, okay, this is what's going to happen. I'm going to knock the heck out of your husband and make him aware of this and he's not going to be able to shake it. If he.

Had not gone to me in the way that he did though, I would have not resented it, I would have questioned it a lot more than I did. I would have thought that there were external reasons of why he was choosing that.

Like, different things persuading his decision to do that and everything, and so because of the way it was presented, it was a literal spiritual calling. It wasn't people telling us. I think that's why no one opened their mouth about it for a long time because I think the Lord knew that he and I needed to know that it was a spiritual decision, not a.

Something that was encouraged by others. Yeah, everybody said we'd be really good at it and stuff, why not?

So, I think that was a huge, huge part of it. I'm so glad you listened.

Me too. Because it could have been really bad. Gwen told me something.

One time about how we were eating Mexican food and I her words have stuck with me through this entire thing, but it was, there's always peace when you walk in obedience and so that has always. And she's right, because us walking in obedience right now, even though it's so scary and it's so different and it's nothing that we planned, there is a sense of peace because we're doing what we're supposed to.

Be doing right now. You know that you're going to be taken care of because you are being obedient. Yes, exactly. I totally get that. Going back to God's plan and you having your own and it not turning out to be what you wanted,.

I was talking to a friend maybe a couple of months ago and she was saying how upset she was because at this point in her life, she's not where she thought she would be and I said, okay whose life is actually like that?

Tell me one person whose life has gone exactly as planned and she's just like, well I can't. I said, okay. It's like nobody's life has gone the same exact way that they planned. Like I said, graduate high school, nursing school, get married, have kids, blah, blah, blah.

I should have already had kids by now, according to like my list but it'll be graduate high school, get married, send husband to school, let him graduate, send me back to school, and then I graduate and then have kids.

There are like several other different steps. Wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute. Don't put the cart before the horse, sister.

I don't have any kids yet. I cannot have kids and go back to school. I'm not saying that you're going to. What I'm saying is don't say that this is what we're doing. You see, I have a problem. It's an addiction.

I have a problem. It's right here and I can't even get it. You can only say what has happened.

Hold on. Have you seen the meme with the little Asian boy? Have you seen the little meme with the Asian boy?

And he's sitting there and he's studying and instead of just like reading, all the other kids in the classroom are just reading and you see this kid go,.

Put it in here, and then he turns the page and he picks it.

And see, I tell you, it's a big struggle. You know how Brother Deaf always talks about when he wanted to,.

He literally wanted scripture to be in here. He literally took the Bible and placed it on top of his head and he was like, Lord make it. When I see that meme, that's what I'm thinking of. Scoop it up and put it on my head.

I'm finished with my study and I'm like, from now on. It just proves to you how stubborn and how controlling. This is exactly what you just did. Oh my God. And I did it on live camera. You said, this has happened, this has happened, this has happened, and this is the way this has gone.

So now, I'm going back to school and She's type A-A-A-A. Yeah, A-A-A-A-A. No, there's more A's than that, sweetie. Because all you can do is say what the Lord has done. Thus far, you have no clue what tomorrow holds.

And I'm not going to sit here and tell you you're going to find out you're pregnant tomorrow because I don't see that happening.

Well, you know that Donovan's aunt told us at Christmas, she goes, y 'all have something to tell us? And I looked at her and I was like,.

What, you think I'm pregnant? I would have patted her and been like, very Christmas.

Very Christmas. And so she was like, y 'all have something to tell us? I said, do you think I'm pregnant? And she goes, yeah, I had a dream. And so obviously, I'm not because I told my husband, and I said, you can tell Margie, it's Aunt Margie, you can tell Aunt Margie that she's not, yeah, Aunt Margie.

I said, you can tell Margie that her dream did not come true this month. And he's just like, so he texted her or whatever. But yeah, so I'm proving a point to Margie. But yeah, I told Donovan, I said, if that ended up happening at this point in our lives, in our marriage, like in April, we've been married five years, just about as usual.

Yeah, I was about to say, we're like a month apart. More anniversary, but yes. And so with that, we've been together for a long time. We've been together this year will be 11 years that we've been together and then married for five in April.

And so at this point in our lives, it's like, okay, if it happens, we'll be okay and we'll be excited about it. It won't be like a dread, like at the beginning of our marriage when we were barely making any money and like just could, you know, afford to, well, I mean, we were saving and doing whatever, but it was like, it's scary to get pregnant.

In the first year of marriage because you don't. Really,.

It's like, you're trying to figure life out as an adult. And I just got put on my husband's insurance. Like I just got off my mom's policy and I feel like I'm an actual adult now. Like I feel like I'm a real adult and it is scary because you don't have that like security or you're going through something new that you just have no idea.

But like I said, if that did happen, I would be okay.

Especially as we hadn't lived on our own yet until we got married. So to adjust to being a literal adult and not being under your parents' provision and then also learning how to be submissive to your husband and y 'all figuring out each other's rhythms and everything.

Add a baby on top of that. It would be kind of overwhelming. But yeah, I told you I have a problem.

But that's why it spoke to me so much and I'm still trying to get it, y 'all. I've been studying the scripture for like three weeks and it's.

Still just... I don't think there's anything wrong.

With that. Anybody and everybody that's out there that knows Anna and has her cell phone number, please text the scripture to her every day this week or the next week. But that's... I just really... Because I guarantee you, it doesn't matter as long as you're living and you're doing exactly what the Lord wants you to do.

It doesn't matter tomorrow or the next day or three days from now or four days from now or five days from now. If it knocks off kilt from what you're wanting,.

You're going to be fine. That's the thing, too. Like I told Donovan, I said, for whatever reason, if it was a Christmas miracle, that I did get pregnant, I said I would not want to go to school because it's a two-year program.

It would be a full-time job. I would not be able to work because I would be in school full-time. I said I would honestly just be content not doing that. Because going back, and if Karina Wilson is watching, shout out to Karina Wilson.

Last year's Women's Retreat, we did the record thing, like what's on your record. One of the things that was on my record was you're incompetent and you're not smart enough. Those were two things. One of those, my dad said to me on my graduation day from high school, which was very hurtful.

I really struggled with those things and I held on to them a lot. That last year, really, I had started school in January and the Women's Retreat was in March last year.

I remember it because of the pandemic. We literally came home and were like, where's the food?

Going through that, I had to tell myself, you are smart. We had the pictures that we had for that little game. What I did is I wrote what was on my record on the back side of the picture and then underneath that, I wrote scripture stating that I was not that.

You were fearfully and wonderfully made and you were made in the image of God. Scripture like that. On my school desk, I have that picture of my little five-year-old self. It was on my birthday. I was holding a little candle.

I have it sitting on my desk to a reminder.

We were all crying. I'm stupid.

Karina, if it makes you feel any better, it worked on one person.