It Wasn't Easy...BUT It Was WORTH IT!
Where are you at this very moment?
Sitting in the car catching your breath? At your desk daydreaming? Home and trying to unwind from the day?
ARE YOU FINDING YOURSELF DAYDREAMING?
At a recent friends’ coffee gathering we chatted about our families, our jobs, our community projects and most of all..." shyly" about the goals on our hearts. I call them our PASSION PROJECTS. It's what we REALLY want to do regardless of compensation. It's the GREAT "thing" we want to do to impact mankind; the gathering was finally split into two identifiers:
- “TDD”- The Day Dreamers
- “TWW”- The Water Walkers
Each one DAYDREAMED with a burning heart desire to provide a “never heard of” solution to help the young, to help the elderly, to help the abused, to help the homeless, to help single parents, to start a business, to start a new family tradition or launch a ministry to see lives…TRANSFORMED for eternity!
Ecclesiastes 3:11NIV
11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet[a] no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.
Webster’s dictionary defines a daydreamer as-a pleasant visionary usually wishful creation of the imagination —
Cambridge dictionary states: a set of pleasant thoughts about something that you would like to do or achieve, but which is not likely:
What is a “WATER WALKER”—someone who pushes past their feelings, past the confines of logic, pushes past the voices of “nay-sayers” [including their voice!] with a quiet yet compelled drive within in the heart that says…”I must go for it; I must try it now, I must STEP OUT of the boat!”
I know the exciting yet incredibly… torturous feeling in the TENSION filled space between fear and…FAITH!
As my dear CECE WINANS sings---"It Wasn't Easy" (Check It Out)
After 20 years in the corporate arena as a thriving global executive, God touched my heart to “step out of the boat” and trust Him to launch a ministry to help women and children heal from the painful effects of domestic abuse. The 6 months long struggle was real as I first denied it, “fleeced” God several times during the months, ran from it, traveled nationwide to conferences for clarity and sought counsel from family, friends, and pastors to only hear the SAME response—“You need to trust God! I’ll pray for you.” This was NOT the response I wanted to hear!
I presented my LIST of questions [objections] to Him—“How am I supposed to start and do my day job?, Who is going with me? Where are the finances coming from? Who is going to believe you’ve called me to do this? What if it doesn’t work out? How am I going to live? What are my colleagues going to think of me? How will it look IF I come back to work as a failed effort??? And [with angry tears in my eyes] I don’t know how to do this thing YOU require of me! I know the private sector…I don’t know about ministry!”
In 2001 God showed me a vision of the pain He sees every night—I saw women from around the globe huddled in their bed, hugging their tear-stained pillow in the dark! They were white, they were black, they were Latina, and they were Asian—each crying out for help!
I fell to my knees and cried, Lord, help my unbelief as my heart broke with the pain. I began feverishly writing my notes and recording daily reflections. Frankly, I thought if I kept the conversation only between God and me it would be okay, yet I was being prompted to share with my “inner circle”—for accountability! A month later I publically shared the vision with family and closest friends [who encouraged me to step out to TRUST God!]. With the prayer support of my best friend, I resigned from my corporate executive job [that’s another STEP to share at another time!] to STEP OUT of the boat to “walk on water” with Jesus Christ steadily holding my hand. Within days I was further inspired as the next steps unfolded… as the right people, guidance, and provision began to come forward by merely sharing the passion placed in my heart.
Was it an easy decision…NO…was it was it painless…NO, was worth it?…YES!!!
The ONE step changed my life to see, experience and partake of opportunities I could only DREAM. It gave me the privilege of meeting, serving and collaborating with people (worldwide) I would have never imagined.
Above all, over the organization ministry years, God displayed His grace, provision, strength, wisdom, care, protection, power, favor, guidance and MORE for the team and me in ways I could only… DREAM! His love and power are unsearchable!
One step out of your boat…out of your comfort zone…into the unknown FAITH Zone will show and teach you it’s the place you want to live! It’s where you will come to know God the way HE knows you—intimately.
Job 42:4-6(NIV)
4 “You said, ‘Listen now, and I will speak; I will question you, and you shall answer me.’5 My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you.
Be encouraged; it’s okay to be afraid, The Author of your inspired dream, Jesus Christ is alongside cheering you on to TRUST Him and guide you each step of the way. He understands and is gently beckoning you to-STEP.
Matthew 14:28-30 (AMPC)
“28 And Peter answered Him, Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.29 He said, Come! So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water, and he came toward Jesus.”
Is “the step” a ONCE in a lifetime occurrence?…NO! Jesus is constantly beckoning you to move from your TDD zone to TWW zone at each level of your journey with Him. The question is…” Will YOU trust Him?!”
What is the God-given dream or desire you cannot “turn off”, what is the dream that keeps you up at night, describe the dream that floats through your mind at work or displays itself in technicolor 3-D as you sit in rush hour traffic? My passion and expertise now are HELPING fellow "WATER WALKERS" with training and practical tools to step OUT of the boat with proven strategies to launch their inspired business/ministry.
Isaiah 30:20-22 (NIV)
20 Although the Lord gives you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, your teachers will be hidden no more; with your own eyes you will see them. 21 Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.”
Where are the TDD or TWW people? —raise your hand! He’s waiting for YOU. It’s time to take that first STEP and feel the WIND!
Daniel 11:32b AMP“… but the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits.”
If you didn't have the moment before...please listen to the words of my dear CECE WINANS sings---"It Wasn't Easy" ...BUT...It Was WORTH It!
You Were Made For…MORE!
Love, Michele
P.S. Let’s connect on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Linkedin…to SHINE Together!