I Am

Last night our church had a one night women’s event called “Every Woman”. I had been looking forward to going for weeks but in all honesty, as the day progressed, so did my janky mood. With multiple errands to run and lots to do, and only having sat down for literally one hour yesterday, I found myself trying to talk myself out of going. I was feeling depleted. Which made realize that was all the more reason why I should go. If I wanted to simply be off my feet and exhale, hey, why not be off my feet in church doing that right? I invited my mom to come along with me; talking and laughing throughout the forty-five minute drive there was a wonderful start to a great evening. We had a great guest speaker, Vicki Simpson {all the way from Australia}, who ministered a message that ‘every woman’ truly needed to hear. She opened up her message sharing a story about when she was a worship leader in her church. She would fast and pray the day before she would sing, desiring for God’s anointing to flow through her. One day after service, a gentleman {who wasn’t so gentle} told her that she had an extremely shrieky voice. His insult caused her to become very self conscious and she thought that surely everyone else thought the same thing about her. From that day forward, she started to sing in a lower pitch. It was an unnatural range for her – and her newly adapted voice ended up causing her immense throat pain and frequent voice loss. She saw a specialist who ran tests but nothing came back abnormal; he then referred her to a speech therapist who immediately diagnosed the problem: “Dear, do you know that you are speaking lower than your normal pitch?” Obviously she knew that. Her personal story segwayed into asking the question: How many of us are living a life lower than how we are called to live it?

She spoke about identity and how many of us may have been mislabeled by others…perhaps we have started to believe those negative things that have been stamped on us. And in doing so, we aren’t living out the full plan for our life. We have been apprehended by other people’s thoughts and opinions of us and have become bound to them. Perhaps something was spoken over us in our adolescent years, or perhaps by someone in the church, and we have taken those words as truth. She gave a wonderful mental visual of our Father God walking around the room and peeling those “labels” off of us. Because…

THERE IS NOTHING MORE POWERFUL THAN A WOMAN WHO KNOWS WHO SHE IS.

She posed the question: How do you identify yourself? Normally a woman’s first response may be…I’m a wife, a mother, a daughter, a friend, etc. But…IF ALL THOSE THINGS WERE TAKEN AWAY FROM YOU…WHO WOULD YOU BE?

That question hit me like a ton of bricks. I felt like I could answer that question in an entirely different way before I got married and had a child. I have defined my role in life now as a wife and a mother…but what about who I was before that transition came? What about my role in the kingdom of God? What about who I simply am?

We, as women, can sometimes have a tendency to sink back when it comes to stepping into all of who we are. So today, I am choosing to remind myself of who I am.

I am a woman who has a purpose.

I am a woman who hopes to have a positive influence.

I am a woman who is persistent.

I am a woman who desires to strive to please the Lord.

I am a woman who knows that there are seasons in life – and that I meant to take away something from each of them.

I am a woman who is an overcomer.

I am a woman who has favor with God.

I am a woman who is strong.

I am a woman who challenges myself to be the best I can be.

I am a woman who is passionate about life.

I am a woman who hurts when others do.

I am a woman who has been covered by grace and has been forgiven.

I am a woman who is wise.

I am a woman who is gifted.
I am a woman who has a discerning spirit.

I am a woman who desires to fulfill the plans and purposes for my life - even though admittingly, I’m nervous about what some of those things are and what they will require.

I am a woman who wants to come into the full knowing of who I am in God and confidently walk in all of those ways.

Today, reflect on who YOU are…don’t wait for someone else to tell you, because you might be waiting a long time. Aim to PURPOSELY, and PURPOSEFULLY dwell on the woman that you were created to be…not just today, but every day. Let’s begin to identify with our positive traits that we may have put on the shelf; and see them first, not last, in ourselves. Let’s expand our identity. Let’s validate ourselves and bring to light all the wonderful things that make us who we are.