Last month, I attended a conference and had a chance to meet a woman who’d recently given a TedX Talk. We had a moment to sit and share our stories and pieces of our lives. I appreciated the wealth of wisdom she was willing to share and gleaned from her lived experiences. As we talked, there was something she said that resonated inside of my spirit and heart and settled in the deepest recesses of my understanding, and forever changed how I see the power of my presence. During our conversation about growing to feel comfortable in our skin as women of color and valuing ourselves as belonging to the Living God she said, “Whenever I walk into a place it doesn’t matter who doesn’t like me or want me there, I didn’t make myself, so where I am, wherever I am, that’s exactly where I’m supposed to be.”
Her words hit me! I’d never heard anyone speak about being so assured of their presence that no matter where they are, it’s known and understood that in each moment, no matter the place or the time, they belonged there. The more I sat with her words the more awestruck I became. Her words had such depth and weight that I found myself in a space of contemplation I hadn’t been in before. It was like I could feel her words settling and shaping me. I thought back over my life the places I’d been, the things I’d done and even the people I’d encountered. I saw everything differently, the good and the bad. It was like my eyes were unveiled and I could see how each moment had been divinely purposed for me to benefit from and a testament of how I’d been responsive to the direction of the Living God. I didn’t make myself, I didn’t pick any of my traits or attributes. My skin, my voice, my life was all ordained to exist as is, in every place and every moment I’d ever been in. I recognized that had I not been in each place to live those moments, I wouldn’t be who I am now.
Armed with my new understanding I decided to find real ways to live out her words and truth in my own life. In scripture, we see this truth in John 15:16. We’re told, “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.” The Living God tells us with clarity and finality that we didn’t choose ourselves, we were chosen and appointed to go and bear fruit. That means that wherever we are, and in every space our presence exists we have been hand selected and divinely appointed to be there. The meaning of GPS had a whole new application and I’ve been diligent about sharing her words with others. God Positions me for Success, when Jesus says that we are appointed that we should go and bear fruit, there is a clear message that our paths have established and our journey set.
In living out this knowledge, my prayers and my decision-making process have changed. My prayers now are focused on how my presence exists wherever I go and reflecting my best, most confident self. So if I’m at the store, at home or even out at lunch I am diligent to be present to exist in the space with a sense of purpose and pride because I didn’t make myself so everything about me is necessary for adding value to the space I’m in at that moment. I look for opportunities to speak a word of encouragement, give a smile, or just to let people know they are seen. I am also more intentional about where I go, and how I show up to reflect that I appreciate the opportunity, because I know and understand that if I show up somewhere it is exactly where I am supposed to be.
