Why?...Because Women Are Trapped
I went deeper this past week did you? Did it pour out of you? Did you open that journal with beautiful gold letters and write out how living life abandoned is hard and come out the other side going deeper realizing why God has asked you to give it all up?
Did you go deeper?
It didn’t take much for it to come out of me but it did have to be pulled out.
With the words “intentional” and “lead” butted up right next to me, the CW Family gathered for another day of training on a Friday morning in February and boy did we go deeper! As usual, we gathered first in the kitchen pouring coffee and cutting a piece of quiche to munch on as we all settled in for a morning we knew was going to be powerful.
With one training under our belt from our awesome coaches, Barbara and Karen, we had already experienced a day that had brought many ah-ha moments revealing truths about our own strengths we did not know we possessed. So leading up to the next training, we were not only excited to see one another, but filled with great expectation.
The day did not disappoint and was filled with surprise, ministry moments, realized vision, and new ownership. Oh, and tears too….many were mine.
As we each found a place to sit and face the easel that had been placed in the front of the room, Barbara called me into a corner of the room before the meeting started. There, she explained that she had an idea she wanted to run by me. She went on to explain that in order for the team to find clarity of their roles within the organization, they would need to be refreshed on the vision of Created Woman. She went onto explain that the best way to do that was to just interview me. Not have me stand up there and give a cheer reciting the vision, but really hear from my own mouth what my heart was feeling.
With a little anxiety – because I like to have things planned out – I sat on a stool in front of the team wondering what Barbara would ask. I had been coached one on one by her before so I knew she had a way of asking hard questions that sometimes I didn’t have an answer for. Would this be one of those moments?
Her first question was simple, “What’s the vision of CW? You know, just the elevator pitch if someone were to ask you?”
Me: Well, we are a foundation for women that combines fashion and faith. Our vision is to equip and empower women to be who they are created to be inside and out. It is to help women discover their purpose. Their call. Who God created them to be. We get to do that in a few ways! We have social gatherings throughout the year, a yearly conference called Style Speaks, and weekly blogs and inspiration.
Whew! Got through that one.
Then she said, “Why?”
So I answered. But she asked me again, “Why?” So I answered again and again, she asked “Why?”
Oh, she was sneaky and didn’t exactly use the word “Why” each time but slung different words together that basically all meant “Why.”
And then it happened. I began to cry!
My elevator pitch was gone. My professional stance and clarity of tone I often use as the leader of this amazing group of women was gone, and my voice quivered as I whispered.
“Because women are trapped.”
“Ahhhh…” Barbara said. “Women are trapped. How are they trapped?”
I opened my mouth after taking a deep breath as everyone starred at me. “They are trapped and do not know why they are here on this earth, why Jesus died for them. They are trapped in a routine-lead lifestyle just doing life on the sidelines with no purpose or vision. They are trapped in their own thinking. Their voice has been buried.”
“Why is that important?” Barbara asked.
“Because one of the last things Jesus said was ‘Go’ so we have to go and live out our purpose or else his death on the cross was in vain. Because it’s the purpose He’s given me to help other women to realize their purpose, why they were born, their destiny so they can leave a legacy for generations.”
With that, she said, “Thanks Heather, you can go sit down.”
There it was. I was off the hook to go sit down, but really I had just put myself on the hook revealing out loud to a whole group of women why I wouldn’t give up on the vision and now, more than ever, I would be held accountable.
As the room sat in silence and I tried to gather myself the girls began to speak the words they had written down on a piece of paper that stood out to them while I spoke, an exercise Barbara had asked everyone to do before she interviewed me.
Here just a few of the words they wrote that rang true for them:
- Discover
- Health
- Whole
- Go
- Passion
- Legacy
- Teach
- Equip
It was right there in my living room that we all realized we had all been brought together for the same purpose. No accident or by chance because we like each other, but because each have been called to the same purpose. The same vision.
You see, when God calls you to do something big, He never allows you to walk alone.
After two hours of teaching us a structure called the Clarity Model that will be our foundation as we build and grow, each one of us was challenged to dig deep themselves. Where do you see yourself within this organization? What ownership are you willing to take?
It was then that the tears began to fall again as she explained that the vision of Created Woman cannot be carried alone on one person’s shoulders, but each one must take a piece and lead their part and lead well.
With bright sticky notes in hand, each CW family member walked up to the easel claiming the piece they would own and it was beautiful! We were sealing our fate. Saying “Yes” to one another, to our readers, and to the women we will meet.
The women who are trapped.
Promising to take a piece and lead well helping to release women from whatever captivity they may be in. Bondage of thinking. Bondage of routine. Bondage of doubt and comparison. Bondage of low self-worth.
Releasing women to walk into the life that God created for them, accepting and walking out the dreams that have been placed in their hearts. Releasing women from the lies that they are not good enough. Smart enough. Brave enough.
Untrapped. Released.
Becoming legacy builders.
So I have to tell you to mark this date in your calendar the same way I did in mine because nothing will be the same after today.
We are building a generation of legacy builders. Today we are releasing women!
You are released! You better get to it!
So dig deep. Don’t just say our elevator pitch or shy away from you thing God is doing. Ask the big question like “Why” and keep asking until you are scared. No more will you say the words “Someday” because the someday is now. The reality is that we may not have tomorrow or the next. Today is the day. The day to do something. To answer the why just might be your first step.
So grab your journal right now and give yourself a Q/A if no one else is around to do it for you. Maybe grab a stool and sit in front of a mirror and keep asking yourself “Why” and see what comes out.
You may cry. You may be scared. You may not even believe what you are hearing. But I can promise you that life will never be the same and you will not have to go alone.
What’s your why?
Journal Entry #7✅