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I remember seeing a vision of me speaking on a stage back when I was 21 years old. I wondered at that time how I’d get there. At 23 I contacted churches and asked for the opportunity to minister. Two speaking engagements a year was a blessing. Many didn’t even bother to respond to me. I realized that I couldn’t wait on the world to give me a stage. I had to go create my own. Waiting on a speaking opportunity could take months, so instead, I looked at YouTube© and social media platforms as my stage to share my gift with others.
Think about Jesus. He never had a stage. He’d preach on a boat, in a field, under a tree, on a mountain, or in a home. Many times we hold ourselves back because the stage/blessing doesn't look like what we had imagined or it doesn’t look like someone else’s.
I realized that the stage didn’t have to be a big room with thousands of people in the audience. A true stage is a place where you can share the message in your heart.
I stopped limiting my stage to the world's views and started expanding it. My stage today is my YouTube© Channel, my blog, and social media presence. I realized that I could share the same message with more people. I could reach the girl in Africa without actually being in Africa.
Now the vision makes sense. God told me I would have an international women’s empowerment ministry. Today, I have that. I fought this for a long time because it didn’t look the way I wanted it to. It didn't shine like others, and I didn't make thousands of dollars. I was blinded to my own blessing because I was comparing it to other people's blessings. Today, I have an international women's empowerment ministry, no it doesn't make thousands a dollars, no I am not rich, and yes, I still work a 9 to 5. None of this looked the way I imagined it, but I am embracing the stage God has given me.
Ladies, embrace the stage or blessing God has already given you, use your voice, your gift, and your influence to change the lives of others.
If no one gives you a stage, create your own!
Scripture
"Getting into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, he asked him to put out a little from the land. And he sat down and taught the people from the boat. "
Luke 5:3
