So Brave that I Barely Recognize Myself
This last week was a doozy for me in a myriad of ways. I had to be gently reminded by a dear friend of my own mantra, that I needed to Be BRAVE. So I took each scary moment and walked through it. One was personal, and one was business. Both were all me. No one else could do it for me. Each day, we have moments that test our courage. We have things that we keep silent about. We have questions we never ask, because we are afraid of the answer or afraid of what our own answer would be.
I made the choice to be brave. It was very uncomfortable. I cried, yelled, overanalyzed, ruminated, and freaked out about in both situations. And yes, I am not afraid to tell you the truth about the feelings that I have. I guess that is a BRAVE act too, now that I think about it. Why would I not want to be myself? Why would I want to pretend?
I am a strong and successful business woman, and I have feelings too. I will not apologize for my humanness and the way God designed me. Nor do I want you to judge me.
Here is how I choose brave:
I sought wise counsel through my inner circle. I got feedback. I role played a conversation. I was coachable. I invited people in to help me see things that I might not see. It is unwise to make decisions in a vacuum. We need other people to help us.
I wrote down the facts and the feelings. It was important for me to not be impulsive on either of these brave moments. For me, that means looking at things on paper with plenty of time. I wanted to sort out my responses and the truth or facts of the matter. We can often get these things confused when in the midst of a conflict.
I prayed and asked others to pray for me. This was critical in both brave acts. I needed God to show me the way, not my way. I needed His divine intervention. I needed to trust and let go.
So do you want to hear about one of these brave moments? Here you have it…
I am writing a book. I have been co-writing this book with another female entrepreneur who owns a successful and respected company. This was a joint venture that came into my life. It felt like the golden opportunity. I have been working on it for 9 months now. I have written 28,000 words and have 8 chapters of the 10 in rough draft form. This has been a huge project for me. The brave part…I began feeling more and more uninspired to write. I could not understand it. I thought it was just burn-out or writer’s block. That was not it. It finally became clear to me on the most recent chapter. It is a chapter about women entrepreneurs living out their purpose. I turned it in. There was not a single mention of God or a reference to scripture. This felt false and untrue. I know for me, and the women I work with, these two cannot be discussed without each other. I finally got the clarity I needed. I could not write this book without sharing God in it. I could no longer write with a voice that was not authentic to me. An A-ha moment for me!
So I spoke my truth….and ended the partnership. But the best part is that it ended so much better than I expected. I was fearful that I was committing major career suicide, but I also felt deep down that there could be no other choice. I got validation from the other side and total permission to do what felt right for me. It was a blessing!
I am still writing the book, but with my own voice, and God will be right in the middle and all over it.
Will you be brave today? Will you speak the truth?
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You & I talked about this earlier 🙂
I”m excited for you!!!
and I’ve been brave before to the point where it was extremely scary.
I have one other ‘big thing’ that I know I need to speak out on (at some point-but the timing isn’t now-if that makes sense) and hopefully when I do, it’ll be a testimony and not something that’ll scare off everyone or like you said commit major career suicide. I’m in prayer over the ‘right time’ to speak of this.
Hi. Diane: I’m so glad that you shared that we all of us . It’s been my experience to sometimes suppress the truth in order to just get along . However , it’s in those very times that I believe God is indeed testing us and seeing if we will measure up to His will and not our own !
Eagles do soar alone & yet they always seem to miss the “storms” of life that would otherwise damage their wings !
Thank you for sharing my Sister ,
Lisa Lewis .
Thanks for being brave Diane! You are leading the way for Christian women to be brave and make their mark as entrepreneurs in the world. It is greatly appreciated.
Blessings to you as you continue to become all God sees in you!
Peggy Reeves
Ooooohhhh girlfriend! I am so excited for your A-HA moment! I can so relate!!!
Different scenario; different time…but the message is the same. 🙂
RISE UP beautiful women of God!!!
So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: TAKE YOUR EVERYDAY, ORDINARY LIFE ~ your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life ~ and place it before God as an offering.
Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for Him.
DON’T become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking.
Instead, FIX YOUR ATTENTION ON GOD. YOU’LL BE CHANGED FROM THE INSIDE OUT.
Readily recognize what He wants from you, and quickly respond to it.
Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity,
GOD brings the BEST OUT OF YOU, develops WELL-FORMED MATURITY in you.
~ Romans 12:1 Message
Love, Karla Meachem
Jesus is my heartbeat; my reason for living!!!
“I am compelled by His heartbeat and made ALIVE by His love.”
~ Barbara Mallett