Hi, My Name Is…

All throughout history, women have been great influencers. You’ve heard the stories of average women doing amazing things. Joan of Arc, a French peasant girl, led the French army to victory. Rahab, a prostitute in Jericho, assisted the Israelites in capturing the city of Jericho by hiding two men who had been sent to scout the city prior to their attack.

All women are influencers. Whether you know it or not, You Are An Influencer.  Are you a wife? Are you a mom? Are you a teacher? Are you an aunt, a grandma, a sister, a daughter? A friend? An employee? Whatever you are, you are influencing people in your life one way or another. The question is, what are you doing with that? Maybe you don’t feel like you have been a good influencer. Maybe you don’t feel like you have done much with your life. You don’t feel like you’re a good enough mom or wife. Or perhaps, you aren’t doing what you wanted to do with your life. I hear you, girl! I get it! I have felt this way, too! 

Do you remember when you were younger how you had so many hopes and dreams for your future? You knew what you wanted to be when you grew up. You knew what your husband would be like, and how many kids you would have (I bet you even had their names picked out). You knew where you would live and what kind of house you would live in. You couldn’t wait to grow up! You would get to make all the rules, eat ice cream for every meal, and stay up all night long watching Saved By the Bell reruns. Yes, being a grown up was what it was all about. But then, you grew up, and life didn’t quite look like you thought it would? 

Let me tell you a secret, that little girl that you once knew, the one with all those hopes and dreams for the future – let me be the one to tell you – she’s still there. Even if you’ve taken a path so far off track from who you thought you would be and where you thought you would go, that little girl is still there, waiting on you to fulfill your destiny. You were created for a reason – you were created to fulfill a purpose – and I firmly believe that the desires that were in your heart so long ago, those desires are still meant to be fulfilled. 

“Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you your heart’s desires.” (‭‭Psalms‬ ‭37:4‬)

It’s never too late to change. You’re never too far gone. Your goals are never out of reach. Even if life events or choices that you’ve made have put you on a path that you didn’t expect and didn’t plan, you can still become the person that you want to be, the woman that God has called you to be. Realize everything in your past didn’t happen to you, it happened for you.

If you’re not happy with your life right now, that means change needs to happen, and you’re the one who has to make those changes. Regardless of your intentions, change is going to happen anyways. You will change, one way or the other, so you might as well be intentional about the changes that take place. Yes, that’s right, we all change, we are all changing constantly, whether you realize it or not. 

Think about your life. Think about all the ways you’ve changed through the years. 

A few weeks ago, I did this exercise, and it was very emotional and amazing. I sat down with a pen and a paper and started writing out my life in 10 year increments. I started with the first 10 years of my life, and just noted all the major events that took place, all my major milestones, my specific likes, dislikes, passions, interests, and hobbies. By the  time I was ten, I already had an idea of who I wanted to be when I grew up, so I wrote that down, too. Then I moved on to the next decade, then the next, etc. I highly recommend you do this exercise, too! You’ll be amazed at how much you have accomplished in your life, and how much you have changed from decade to decade. I learned that I didn’t really start growing up until I was in my twenties. I was married with children, away from my parents for the first time, learning to be a wife and a mom.

So take a several minutes and write down your life in 10 year increments. You’ll need a few pieces of paper for this.

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Okay, so now that you’ve done that, what did you learn? What goals did you have that have changed? What events took place that made your goals no longer desired, needed, or possible?

I plan to research and write about influential women of the Bible. Each of the women that I will highlight also went through life changing events. Each woman had set out on a path; she had visions and goals for her future; she knew what she wanted in life, and she was on track to achieving that future, until a she made a choice, or an event that was out of her control changed everything. Just like me, just like you. Life has a way of knocking us off the course when we least expect it. But just because we get derailed does not mean we have to abandon the journey, and forget about who we wanted to be. It just means you may have to take a different path to get there. 

Scripture for the Journey

“I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.” Philippians 3:14

“Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.” Proverbs‬ ‭3:6‬ ‭NLT‬‬

“He renews my strength. He guides me along right paths, bringing honor to his name.” Psalms‬ ‭23:3‬ ‭NLT

“Give your burdens to the Lord, and he will take care of you. He will not permit the godly to slip and fall.” Psalms‬ ‭55:22‬ ‭NLT

“Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you your heart’s desires.” ‭‭Psalms‬ ‭37:4‬ ‭NLT

“And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation.” ‭‭Romans‬ ‭5:4‬ ‭NLT‬‬