Smothercate!

Some words don’t come from dictionaries. They come from desperation, from prayer, from heaven itself.

Years ago, in a small homecell, one of our beloved brothers kept praying, “Lord, smothercate us.”
Yes, smothercate. This amazing littleword did not come from a theology textbook, but from a heart hungry for the Lord’s presence. It made me smile at first. But right now it makes me weep.

Because now I know what it means to need it.

In recent months, I’ve walked through the slow and unravelling pain of betrayal. A betrayal so deep it crushes your  heart and confuses your sense of self, your footing, your understanding of love, of marriage, of commitment.

And in this space, where anxiety breathes louder than reason, and memories haunt my soul, I found myself gasping for reality.

But the Lord…
The Lord has smothercated me.

To smother means to cover thickly, or to envelop, like a fog.

To suffocate means to cut off the breath.

So, I’ve come to define smothercate this way:

To be so covered by the glory of the Lord that everything else—fear, stress, heartbreak, panic, suffocates in it.
While you breathe in peace, joy, and the radiant presence of His love.

This is not merely poetic language.

It’s survival.

I think Moses understood this feeling when he was in the cloud of God’s glory.

“Then the cloud covered the Tent of Meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.” (Exodus 40:34)

There’s a kind of glory that doesn’t always give answers.
It doesn’t explain why.
It doesn’t rush to rescue.
It simply wraps around you until the world goes quiet and your sobs subside.

There are days I can’t pray with words. Only tears. Only silence.

And in those moments, the mist of God’s presence rolls in—thick, holy, comforting.
And no, He didn’t tell me everything would be okay. It isn’t. It’s hard. It’s painful.
What He did tell me is I’m not alone.

Now I learn to turn my face toward Him so that He becomes my Comforter.

In this breathless cloud, these things thoughts can’t speak anymore:

  • The voice that whispers, “I’m not enough.”
  • The fear that says, “I’ll never recover.”
  • The ache that asks, “Was any of it real?”

They’re all smothercating—snuffed out by glory of the Father’s love.
Drowned in a peace that makes no sense yet feels euphoric.

As He promised…

“He will cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you will find refuge.” (Psalm 91:4)

Lord, smothercate me.

Cover me until my grief can’t speak.
Wrap me in Your glory until fear forgets my name.
I need clarity—I need you.
Hide me in the wonder of Your love
until I rise again in joy.
Amen.

To God be the glory, always.

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This post was originally written in 2019 and refreshed in 2025 to reflect a deeper journey through pain, presence, and the overwhelming love of God.

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  1. Yvonne,

    I am smothercated!!!!!!!!!!!

    Funny how the Spirit revealed to me the mystery of the word as I laid my eyes on it. Indeed He is great!

  2. Indeed the things of the spirit are foolishness to those who are perishing but for us who are in Christ they are peace and life,we thank the Lord