Denouncing Delta: Answering God’s Call – Part I

Ello Loves,

I pray all is well with you! Thank you for joining me again for another post. The purpose of my blog is to be transparent about my journey towards transforming into all that God has called me to be –and to inspire others to do the same. On any journey to transformation, there must be some shedding and letting go of the old. Among the things that I had to let go of was my membership in a Black Greek Letter Organization (BLGO): Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated. I became a member of the sorority in 2012 and officially renounced my letters in 2016 –after God made it clear on numerous occasions that I needed to separate from the organization.

I am a bit long-winded –meaning this post will be a tad long, so I shall divide it into two parts. Part I will detail my life prior to becoming a member of DST. Part II will consist of my experiences while a part of the organization and life after I answered God’s call for me to leave. I ask for your patience and willingness to listen with an open heart as I share my personal testimony of overcoming the spiritual bondage of idolatry —if you so choose to continue reading. The details of my journey paint the picture to this specific page in my storybook. For you to see how I came to this point in life, I will now ask for you to join me on a trip down memory lane to where it all began…

Life Prior To Becoming A Member of DST

Prior to becoming a member of DST, I was heavily involved in my church (basically all of my life) and had a huge heart for servicing my community in any way that I could. Whether it was volunteer work at church, feeding the homeless, HIV/AIDS peer education, tutoring the youth, etc. —if the work was about making my surrounding community a better place, I wanted to be a part of it. So when I got to college and became introduced to “greek life”, I was overall immediately drawn to the leadership and service aspect that was broadcast. I put the thought into the back of my mind as something to consider, but my spirit was not 100% sold on joining any sorority at the moment.

Shortly after beginning my freshman year in college, I had a mini-break (a few days off from school in recognition of the Jewish Holiday) –on this break I went home to Brooklyn and visited my church. It just so happened that the first questions asked by a few people were about my experiences thus far in college —literally less than a month— and if I had any interest in “greek life”. I responded to the questions by expressing my interest in the leadership that I saw on campus and that I was especially drawn to the “Deltas”. Of course, at that exact moment I found out that one of my amazing church mentors was a member of the sorority –and of courseee, I thought that this was “fate”! (How could it not be?!) Anywho, my mentor proceeded to encourage me to look into and do my research on all BGLO sororities to see if DST was really the one for me. I did my research and the main thing that SOLD me on DST was the line — “founded on Christian Principles”. (Could it not be more perfect?! This HAD to be God speaking right?! How could it not?) Service, Yes! Scholarship, Yes! Sisterhood, Yes! AND Christian?! Sign me up! I was ready to join —lol only if it worked that way.

Now, let me not front –I was EXCITED! Excited because I felt like I could really see myself as a Delta –running the yard, changing lives, and servicing my community, and killin’ a few strolls, steps, and chants —at every event lol. I started to idolize becoming a Delta. Literally began to want it with everything that was in me. It was on my heart and in my mind, all the time. I wanted to be a Delta real bad –and I was ready to invest all of myself into attaining this dream. So…I studied the history, the founders, the 5-point programmatic thrust, DST’s impact back then, DST’s impact in the world today, and “notable” Deltas —Of course, when I found out all of the powerful women who were in fact Deltas, all of a sudden it “made sense”! These women were successful because they were Deltas. I began to attribute success to being a part of the sorority –it inspired me even more to pursue membership.

I expressed my interest, put in the work, and PRAYED. My prayers went a little like this —

“Lord, please let me become a Delta. If I get this, I’ll know that it was you. Only by your grace, your power, your might. I’ll be able to do so much in the community, help so many people. Lord, I’ve never wanted something like this. You know the desires of my heart. I am trusting you. In Jesus name, Amen.”

–See, this all sounded real good back then. I was real passionate in my prayer and meant every single word. But now as I look back, I can see that there was something clearly wrong with my prayer. I attributed God’s love for me to Him granting me entry into DST. “If I get this, [THEN] I’ll know it was you” —how can I say this? I never even considered that fact that JUST maybe it was not in God’s will for me to be a part of the organization. In all honesty, I was not even checking to know IF it was God’s will for me to join —because how could He not? He sent me so many signs showing me that this was the way to go (or so I thought). In my prayer, my ability to help others was now contingent on being apart the organization —how can I say this? God does not need a sorority in order to bless the lives of His people. Yes, God works everything out for our good & Yes, there is incredible work done through DST (and many other organizations) hence the reason as to why I was drawn to it –but the glory for the work being done and the root of who/what the work is being done for is the key difference (which I really did not understand until I started to build a real relationship with Christ).

Quick flash forward —later, after gaining membership, the glory of my wisdom, service and scholarship were done “in the name of delta” or “for the founders”.

While there are many other things to point out in the way I prayed prior to membership, the last thing I really want to touch on is that “I never wanted something like this” –which was very true, but at the same time it really revealed my heart because (in all honesty) I never even wanted God like this before. Which speaks to an all too familiar tendency of us knowing God when we need something from Him, and gradually forgetting Him after gaining the prize. I never studied for the Lord the way I studied for delta. I never worked as hard for the Lord the way I worked for delta. I never danced or stepped as hard for the Lord the way I did for delta. I certainly did not invest as much time in the Lord as I invested into delta. But this was neither here nor there –I worked and prayed (and had the GPA) to be a “Delta” –it was my calling! (Or so I thought…)

I briefly touched on God sending me “signs” that joining DST was the way to go. As I stated prior, one of the biggest signs for me was the line “founded on Christian Principles” –I needed to be apart of something that was rooted in the same faith that I was —y’all saw how hard I was praying earlier! Some other significant signs consisted of seeing people that I looked up to –mentors, close friends, teachers– becoming members of the organization. Other “signs” were connections I felt to the founders –being able to see myself in them, in their purpose and drive. When I found out that one of the first African-American women on broadway was a Delta Founder –I was like Yes! This is me! (I love the arts, everything musical theatre, and all that jazz –pun intended lol). But it even got to the point that if I happened to look at a clock and it was “1:13” or “9:13” or ended with a “–:22”, I thought it was a sign —clearly I was reaching lol. This is to show you that I was desperately looking for signs from God to confirm that this was for me.

I must say, God is not the only one that can send signs. The enemy preys off of our weaknesses, emotions, and gullible minds. If we do not test every spirit or have the gift of discernment in life, we can very easily be led astray —thinking that we are following God’s will, when actually we are willingly walking into the agenda of the enemy to kill, steal and the destroy our destinies. Anywho, back then, I was not testing any spirits —nobody had the time! I took the signs as confirmation and RAN with it! I wanted to become a member of this organization to excel and change the world and that was it!

Side note: It is really funny when the Lord gives us things that we want, we do not second guess it. But when He tests us and the answer is not what we were trying to hear, we question EVERYTHING! Sounding something like this — “Lord, are you sure sure?”  “I don’t think you understand” “I’ll let you think about it a little more” “I really believe this would be best for me, you just wait and see” —this is the easiest way to undermine our Creator and also the quickest way for us to remove our life from the protection of God’s all-knowing hands and place it in the limitations of our own understanding.

In short, after doing my research, I was ready and willing to do what I had to do in order to become a member of DST. I was committed and had no intentions of turning back —even to the point of bargaining with God after He made it explicitly clear that I needed to let it go (I will touch on this in Part II). As I said earlier, God does indeed have a way of working everything out for our own good to ultimately return the glory back to Him. He has the ability to save and redeem us from ourselves and our own disobedience due to the desires of our flesh. God knew the love I had in my heart for delta. He knew of my unwavering devotion, the temporary happiness, pride, and newfound completeness that I would feel after joining. He also knew very well the spiritual repercussions and bondages that I would face and struggle to break free from in the coming years. But as I said before, back then, I was unbothered –ignorance was bliss and delta was the ultimate goal. Nothing would deter me from this dream.

Part II Coming Soon…

Life As A Member of DST

Life After Finally Answering God’s Call

Thank you for being with me thus far on this journey, love. I pray that the beginning portion of my testimony was able to bless you in some way, shape, or form —even if it prompted you to do a quick check on the motivations of your own heart. There is purpose and power in every situation that the Lord restores and carries us through —so please, never undermine or sit on your testimony, whatever it may be. You were blessed to be a blessing to others.  If you are still interested in learning more about my journey to Denouncing Delta: Answering God’s Call, please join me in the coming days for Part II.

>>CLICK HERE TO READ PART II<<

Until next time… Continue to Shine Bright & Illuminate Your Life!

Lots of Love & Sunshine,
Shanice <3