Hello Soulful Tribe!
I hope you all are well. I know it’s been a while since you’ve heard from me. Although pandemic life is changing for the better, I still have a lot on my plate.
I am:
- First, a Daughter of the King
- Daughter of Joe & Carla
- Wife to Vince
- Momma of three
- Speech Language Pathologist/Early Interventionist
- SoulfulMOTION Director/Instructor/Choreographer
- Auntie to 4 sweet nieces and my favorite nephew
- Friend
- Cousin to many!
- And so many more!
Where am I going with this? Well, March is Women’s History Month! And as a woman, I’ve been feeling the ups and downs of wearing all of those titles. I was recently blessed with an opportunity to speak with another sister in Christ, who I recently met via social media. As we talked about our love for fitness, Christ, music, etc., we eventually talked about how difficult it is at times to live up to the expectations of being a woman these days. As we laughed, sighed, and expressed our emotions, at some point during our conversation, she mentioned that satan “has it out for women”. This was so intriguing to me. She further goes on to explain that satan, who was known for his beauty, will often use confusion and delusion to invade women’s minds, to make us think negatively about ourselves concerning our own beauty. This includes our standards of beauty, and how we measure up to those standards. Wow. I’d never thought of this. Why wouldn’t the enemy use beauty as a tactic to divide God’s precious gift of women? It only makes sense, especially in 2021.
With technology being at its best, it can often appear that women can and should do it all! From drinking water, taking your vitamins, pinterest parties, minding your business, having the perfect body, exercising, contouring your nose perfectly, wearing your lashes, reading your Bible, making the perfect meal and or meal prepping, running a business, how to work from home during a pandemic, homeschooling, stay at home mom life/planning, etc… Women have a LOT being fed to them on a daily basis on the internet. Not only are women reading and ingesting information unconsciously, we’re inundated with imagery…quite a bit surrounding beauty. Statista.com estimates that the cosmetic industry alone generated 49.2 billion dollars in 2020. Beauty generates a lot of dollars.
As we celebrate women this month, and the history that has led us to this moment, I’m challenging myself and you to dig deeper into what God tells us about our own beauty. God’s word provides us with ALL that we will ever need to live our most fulfilled lives, if we only pick it up and read it. We never ever have to wonder or worry about our own beauty, if we truly know how God feels about us, and if we believe His word.
Proverbs 27:17 tells us, “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another (NIV).” The New Living Translation translates it as this, “ As iron sharpens iron, so one friend sharpens another.” As a collective of beautiful women in Christ, it is our responsibility to sharpen each other. For iron to become sharpened, it must rub up against another. Friction must be created, sometimes sparks fly! But the outcome is a change for the better! God has placed you, within this amazing SoulfulMOTION community of women who come from all different backgrounds: race, ethnicity, age, socioeconomic status, political affiliation, etc. As God’s creation, we are all beautiful, we are all made in His image, and as women, we must fight to not let satan have the upper hand against us. The more we challenge our own beauty in God’s eyes, the confusion and delusion of the enemy can only grow stronger.
How can you support or “sharpen” another sister in Christ this month? What can you do to accept yourself as God has created you to be, beautiful, in His sight, just as he wanted you to be? Do you have a sister who is struggling with accepting herself as beautiful?
Let’s be intentional about supporting each other this month and always, rather than comparing ourselves to each other. As women, we must work together, as we will one day BE history. It is my prayer that the SoulfulMOTION community will be one that will be discussed for years to come. That whoever mentions SoulfulMOTION out of their mouth, be it of love, kindness, and the beauty of Christ in this melting pot of women (and men when they finally decide to join us).
I pray blessings over you all this month, and that you know you are beautiful! If you need some inspiration, here are some of my favorite songs to get you fighting, believing in yourself and what God says about YOU!
- “I Like Me”, Kirk Franklin ft. Da’ T.R.U.T.H.
- “Gold”, Britt Nicole
- “Fighters”, Cheryl Fortune
Blessings to you all tribe, and praying that we can see each other soon!
