Standing Still...

Oh my goodness....how long has it been?

Admittedly, it has been more than quite a while since I've blogged.  It seems as if it has been ages since I first sat down long enough to really listen to what God was trying to say to me about so many things--and among them, about fruitful and fulfilling ways to express myself with the purpose of helping others.  I will say as I always have...when you take your hands off the wheel and let God take it, amazing things start to happen. You end up in parts and places that you've never been or knew existed--and discover that you are absolutely enjoying the freedom to enjoy the ride.

I'm sure most of you that read my blog know me and have heard my exciting news, but if you haven't--I'm over the moon excited to be marrying the person that God absolutely crafted for me! 

John and I are in eager anticipation for our wedding in May--but even more excited about beginning the rest of our lives together as partners in life. On top of that, after wrestling with my purpose and passions and motivations, I'm very happy settling into my new position back in higher education.

My urge to blog today hit me after I was leaving church.  I had posted the sermon scripture earlier during the service, but as I pondered on it driving home, it really seemed to encompass the whirlwind of my life over the past few months:

"  Then spake the Lord to Paul in the night by a vision, Be not afraid, but speak, and hold not thy peace: For I am with thee, and no man shall set on thee to hurt thee: for I have much people in this city." - Acts 18:10

The last 6 or 7 months have not been without turmoil or hard decisions. But the decision to lean on my faith regardless of the doubt, uncertainty, and disappoint swirling around me has truly been my constant. The old me would have strapped on the armor of "I am woman hear me roar and get out of the way" rather than the armor of God--truth, righteousness, faith--and peace. At the end of the day, all you have left sometimes is your hope, faith, virtue, and more importantly, God given peace that no man can explain, much less take away.  

It gets rough and cumbersome at times, but it's funny how God will reward your reliance on him by taking the very things that used to shake your spirit and debilitate you, and lift you so far above that you are untouchable by all of those worldly things!  It's a blessing to have all of those supernatural things working in your favor. God's only requirement is that we trust them and Him, and to be bold, yet patient as He works it out for us. 

It's a comforting feeling, and I'm so glad that I've decided to yield as He reveals!  

The results are in....

If you hadn't all ready figured it out, I've been on pins and needles waiting on my results from AncestryDNA.  What is AncestryDNA, you ask? Well, learn all about it HERE -but in a nutshell, a lab analyzes a sample of your DNA and compares it to the over 700,000 markers examined on your genome to every other person in the database, resulting in an amazing breakdown of the very origins of your family lineage.  In theory, it sounded awesome, so I knew I wanted to try it.  When I unwrapped the box from John for Valentine's Day, I was anxious/excited/scared/uncertain--for so long I've had an idea of what my family might be and been able to map it fairly well, but this would put me one step closer to lining up pieces and closing gaps.

So...my obligatory 6-8 weeks has come and gone, and the results are in. Here they are!:

So here's what we've learned. Consistent with the genealogy (that my sister primarily) done in the past, we are indeed descendants of a past where slavery met European prominence.  The Cameroonian and other tribal roots can be traced back to when my ancestors were brought over to America via Haiti and then New Orleans, and sold into slavery, eventually settling into South Louisiana (Clinton). The name Beauchamp derives its origins from the Great Britain region, which encompasses England, Scotland, Wales, and parts of France. It should come as no surprise that we've been able to uncover on my dad's side where the lineage started to turn a little 'caramel' in the mid 1800's as a result of slave and slave owner interaction, and similar results on my mom's side as well.

This has been the most interesting thing ever--and it's just getting started.  I am so excited about the delineation of tribes within my African makeup.  I cannot wait to start researching and looking at the these tribes and different cultures within.   It's also very neat to see the European results line up with the little that we do know about those influences in our family heritage. I would absolutely recommend this to anyone who has ever wanted a starting point or supplement to their genealogical research.  These results also link up directly with my Ancestry.com profile, so these results will now be integrated into my digital family tree!