Me @ 41: Holl'up Wait, I'm Not Ready - A Conversation with the Holy Spirit

20th Annual Birthday Blog

Kandis Reese

Jul 08, 2026

So first of all, my 41st birthday has no business even being here today.

I wasn’t done being 40!! 🙄

Ughhhhhhh…

(sigh)

pause

close your eyes

breathe

What are you feeling?

I feel unprepared.

Ok, unprepared for what?

For life. All of it. The big things, the little things. I just feel unfinished and unprepared on every front.

Prepare ye the way for the Lord.

Prepare ye the way for the Lord? What does that mean?

Look it up.

(Googles phrase)

Results:
"Prepare the way of the Lord" is a famous biblical call to repentance, famously prophesied in Isaiah 40:3-5 and fulfilled by John the Baptist. It means to clear the obstacles in your heart—such as pride or sin—making room for faith and God's presence to enter.

I read and reread Isaiah 40:3-5 and as I read it, these are the phrases that stood out to me:

Make a straight highway for our God
Every valley will be lifted up
Every mountain and hill will be leveled
The uneven ground will become smooth
And the glory of the Lord will appear
All humanity together will see it

Ok, so basically every line is leaping loudly in my heart at this point.

I sat and prayed, listened, meditated on each line and here’s what I heard:

Make a straight highway for our God

Remove the obstacles and distractions. God shouldn’t have to go through hoops and jump ropes to get your attention. Simplify your mind and time. Make straight the highway of your heart for God.

Every valley will be lifted up. Every mountain and hill will be leveled.

It has been busy the last several years, so many ups and downs. I am giving you a breather. Leveling your private and personal world. It may be unknown territory for you, but relax in it.

The uneven ground will become smooth

You won’t have to toil and work as hard to maintain. The obstacles to those visions are being removed. It’s time to go after them.

And the glory of the Lord will appear

Credit will go where it belongs. It belongs to Me (God). This won’t be a result of your efforts or your successful attempts, you will know it’s Me and I will receive all glory. My presence will be with you as you keep the highway clear of debris.

All humanity together will see it

This won’t be a hidden or private work. Others will see and testify that it was Me. My glory will be revealed for all to see.

My Response

I sat with this word and responded with these questions:

What distractions and debris are in the way?
How do I clear the highway of my heart?
What are You specifically asking of me?

I don’t believe this is just for me, but I think God is asking this of all His children. I plan to settle and quiet my heart some more with this instruction over the next few weeks and I encourage you to do the same.

Take These Three Steps

Sit and ask the questions.
Listen for His instructions.
Respond with obedience.

Ask about them in prayer, write down what you hear, then release your will so you can obediently walk in whatever God is specifically asking of you.

That’s the move, that’s the play.

Clearing the path and moving forward in whatever vision God’s given.

The peace will come from preparing the way for the Lord, not in preparing our home for company or preparing my family for a trip, and definitely not from preparing my business for opportunities (three things that have been front and center on my mind lately).

That is not the preparation that’s needed.

That’s not the preparation that’s missing.

I’m not unprepared in life, I’m unprepared in my head and heart.

And that makes all the difference.

Concluding Thoughts

Whew! Let’s talk about it…

That is NOT where I thought this birthday blog was headed…was this for anyone else?