Just Say the Thing
“She changed my life and she doesn’t even know my name.”
I’ve said these words over the last few years more often than I can count. There are these women I have encountered over the years through books, Bible studies, podcasts and conferences who have truly taught me about God, the Bible and the Truth of what it means to be a woman of God and everything in between. Yet, they have no idea who I am. I guess in some ways that could be sad, but I don’t see it that way. I see it as proof of how God can speak through a person’s words, life, stories and voice in endless ways.
While the stories these women share with vulnerability, authenticity and boldness have sank into my bones and altered my perception of the world, it is the fact that I’ve been changed by women I don’t know that has truly stuck with me. I have learned so many lessons from these friends I’ve never met but whose voices I have heard, and that gives me the courage to keep using my voice too.
You never know when your story could make a difference in someone’s life. You may think you aren’t smart enough, experienced enough, eloquent enough, educated enough, insert word here enough to impact someone’s life. Maybe you think you need a bigger platform, that if you’re going to say something it needs to count, it needs to reach as many people as possible. Or maybe you think you just don’t have anything to say. Wherever you land on your beliefs about your purpose and place in the world, I want to challenge you just a little. Say the thing.
Say the thing you know deep within your soul because you have lived it. Say the thing you know will be painful to retell, but will bring freedom to both you and those listening. Say the thing that might be hard for others to hear, but needs to be said because it’s true and it matters, and it aligns with Scripture. Say the thing. The thing you believe has already been said over and over again and you have nothing new, better or as insightful to say — say it. The words may have been said before but never in your voice. And it's your voice that matters.
That’s what I’ve learned from these ladies. They have taught me freedom, the power of prayer, so much Truth about God, that it’s okay to be vulnerable, it’s okay to be angry, it’s okay to be broken and it’s okay to be joyful because it is okay to be human. They have taught me how to study, interpret and research Scripture, to Love God, to love my neighbor as myself; to love myself. They have taught me all of this and more — I’m beyond grateful for every single word.
But what they have taught me above all else: the thing that makes your heart burn and you think isn’t worth saying, it needs to be said. Because it’s your story, in your voice, in your generation, for your circle of influence.
I’m so grateful those women pushed through the lies that told them to stay quiet and said the things anyway, because I have been changed for it. Their boldness and perseverance have inspired me to do the same. To push through insecurity and doubt, and trust that God has placed me on the earth for such a time as this. He has been watching, writing and rewriting different versions of similar stories for centuries, and every single one of those stories has held a significant purpose.
Your voice matters. It really does. You might think no one is listening, but I feel safe in guaranteeing that at least one person is. And if you can bring glory to God and hope to someone who is feeling hopeless by simply saying the thing that is in your soul, what a beautiful way to spend a life.
