Dear Woman:

I know your struggles, because I am a woman. I am a wife, mother, daughter, sister, friend…. If you’re anything like me, the days have turned into weeks, the weeks into months, and the months into years. It seems like just yesterday, the children were little and I was exhausted. Yet, here I am today, with a senior in high school and another about to enter high school. It’s hard to believe that in a few weeks, my husband and I will be celebrating 20 years of marriage. Where did the time go? How are we already in our 40s? And most of all, how is it that I still haven’t followed through on so many of my dreams?

You’re probably much like me – I’ve spoken with many women through the years, and it seems like we all have something in common – we’ve put our dreams on hold for the sake of our family. Of course, this is absolutely nothing to be ashamed of! I truly believe that there is a time and a place for everything. It may be that God called you to follow through on something as a child, that well into adulthood, you’re just now getting through. From what I’ve heard, this it completely normal. You are completely normal, too!

It was at least 20 years ago when I first felt the calling to write a book. I was in college and the ideas flooded in. For 20 years, I’ve kept saying, one day… the calling to write a book has never left me, but it hasn’t been until recently that I’ve felt like I had a direction. It’s almost as if God told me in my youth that I am going to write, but he didn’t tell me what I would be writing. I’ve never forgotten, and now I finally feel like I know what I’m supposed to write. I think people need to hear what God’s Word says, and I couldn’t think of a better time than such a time as this!

Are you ready to follow the beckoning of becoming the woman that God created you to be? We are all on our own journey and what makes all of us so beautiful is that we each have special and unique gifts that we need to share with the world, but when we try to be the woman the world thinks we should be, we are suppressing our true selves and missing out on so much potential!!!

Here are some simple steps to help you achieve your dreams:

Step One – Get out of your way

The first step to becoming the woman we are called to be is realizing and accepting (rather than ignoring and denying) that you are often your own obstacle. I know that I have told myself a million and one times that I am finally going to do what it takes to reach my goals. I take off, like in a race, with momentum, only to fizzle out at the first sign of resistance. I say I’m going to write every day, and two days in, I get so busy that I don’t have time to write, so then it takes a month before I write again. I am my own worst enemy. Being a mom and a wife will always keep me busy, but that doesn’t mean I can’t find time to focus on my own personal dreams while helping my husband and children to achieve theirs as well.

Step Two – Forgive Yourself

Then what you need to do is – and this is something that I’m working on, as well – forgive yourself. Because let’s get real – it can be easy to fall into a state of self-loathing when we see how we have held ourselves back all this time. How far could I be if I had gone after my goals when I first dreamt of them?

Step Three – Keep Moving Forward

Each day, try to do at least one thing that is in the direction that you want to go. Don’t stress when a day gets so busy that you don’t have time. Just pick up where you left off tomorrow. But whatever you do, keep taking steps toward your dreams. It doesn’t matter how long it takes you to get there, as long as you just keep moving. You will have times in your life where you move slowly, and other times that everything just comes together perfectly. Enjoy it all in stride.

Ready. Set. Go after your dreams!

It’s never too late to follow through on what you want to do with your life.

Today is day one. I CHOOSE to forgive myself and to move forward with a plan. Whatever happened in the past, all the bad times, all the good times, happened for me, leading up to this moment, so that I can be true to my future self, so I can have deeper relationships, so I can be more emotionally intellectual than I’ve ever been, so I can have a stronger walk with God.

We get to decide what to do with our life – whether we decide to be an athlete, a wife, a mom, a missionary, a writer, a teacher, or whatever you want to be – what we decide to do doesn’t matter as long as we continuously work toward our future, living each day with purpose and intention, following the calling in our lives.

Trust in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.
Psalm 37:4

Are you ready to take this journey with me? If so, comment below and let me know what your step one is.