God's Brave Women - Jeanice's Story
What does it mean to even be brave?
I do know that to be brave you have to be willing to step outside of the walls that try to confine you with fear and then other times being brave is doing it even when there is still this huge presence of fear.
I’ve had so many encounters that took a huge reliance upon God and a huge dying to myself in order to complete. I had to die to myself because the steps of courage it would take to do what I believed God was asking of me required all of Him and absolutely none of me, except my feet moving forward in obedience.
When I was first asked to write this blog, there were so many examples I wanted to share of moments that took huge courage in my life. Yet, the closer I got to the time to submit, I realized my biggest and most vivid courageous moments are the ones that I am living out right now. I’ve been on quite the journey over the last few years. One that has caused me to live a rather unorthodox life compared to the one I was raised to live.
Don’t get me wrong my values have not changed; my faith hasn’t changed, but the traditions I once felt strongly held and bound to… have. I am more and more daily becoming who God created me to be and the becoming of this person has created great fear within me.
The strength it takes and the battles that I have had to fight to continuously emerge into her has been one that has taken huge doses of courage in the presence of huge fear that just fails to disappear. Whenever I think about how fear can be relentless, even for the bravest of women, I hear Joyce Meyers and her famous quote, “Do it afraid.”
"Whenever I think about how fear can be relentless, even for the bravest of women, I hear Joyce Meyers and her famous quote, “Do it afraid.”'
In life a lot of times that’s just the route you will have to take, but the comforting part is that even as you do this afraid, God is right there with you. His word tells us “do not fear” repeatedly. His word tells us to be “strong and courageous” often. He reminds us in His word that “He is with us,” and I just believe that these confirmations and commands are repeated for a very specific reason.
God knew us before we were even formed in our mother’s womb. He knows the very person He is calling us to be will require everything in us to be committed to casting out fear, while simultaneously being brave enough to confidently be HER.
I have been on a journey in these last few years of “becoming,” and on this journey I’ve defied the traditions I was brought up under in ways that, at times, produced huge amounts of fear. I grew up in a wonderful church and I’ve served in the church my entire life. But over the last few years I’ve begun to attend and sit amongst many different churches. At some churches I would get involved, but there was always a tugging to keep going once I had either poured out or received in the ways that God had instructed me to while I was there.
This has brought me a huge view and revelation of God’s people. I have learned how many different denominations operate and serve in our communities. I have learned about the hearts of those who look completely different from me, and it has truly taught me that we are not at all that different. We all have reasons, upbringings, values and traditions that cause our minds to think in a certain ways and, in this aspect, we are all made up the same. All built upon the world we were born into and all trying to unwrap the things that shaped us, something God never intended to.
"I have learned about the hearts of those who look completely different from me, and it has truly taught me that we are not at all that different."
It has taken courage to continue on a journey very different from my upbringing. To continue to visit and learn about different people who are all loved by our Savior, Jesus Christ. To sit under different shepherds of different flocks and be poured into, leaving those places with many profound revelations and equally being strengthened even more in my gifts. To take those things I’ve learned and simultaneously, in the same ways that I was filled, begin pouring out into those who I am assigned to.
You see, I was sent to this world to be a change. To touch the minds of people and cause them and their lives to be eradicated, elevated and changed. To train them to take captive every thought in their minds, bringing it in obedience with what God speaks about them, just as His word teaches. This has not at all been easy because the very battles I train others to defeat I’ve had to first fight.
There have been many battles on this journey and many of them have been internal because we tend to compare what God has called us to do to the way He is calling others. I would often sit and ponder how different I was being led from all those around me. But how can I eradicate change in the minds of God’s people if I don’t understand the implications of their minds first? How can I take part in my role to heal the minds of those who are in and outside the church if I don’t first take time to understand how the many different people, denominations and races function on a daily or weekly basis?
We tend to look at our life with a magnifying glass when God has the entire picture. We spend more time fighting the journey He wants us on, wondering why and how, when God just wants us to follow Him in blind faith and obedience. My life is definitely an unorthodox one from which I was raised. It still takes courage to keep believing this is the journey that God has called me on. I am still traveling church to church, determined to understand more and more about God’s people. I am also very active in the fields, training at risk youth and those who battle with mental health issues, teaching them mental self-care practices such as meditation, the power of our words and yoga. It takes courage to live out my life as me. But I believe that for those women who choose to be brave, it’s a common battle we all have to fight.
"It takes courage to live out my life as me. But I believe that for those women who choose to be brave, it’s a common battle we all have to fight."
I plan to fight for this girl and not hide her anymore. She’s more than enough. Her journey is more than worth it. And her God will work it all together for His good. That’s His promise.
About Jeanice
Jeanice Sherai is a Mindset Coach and Holy Yoga Therapist residing in Charlotte, NC. She is passionate about promoting Whole Minds so that we can all truly enjoy our present moments. She is the author of “Decide Today is Your Day: 21 Affirmations Guaranteed to Change your Life” and “Goal Diggers: A Goal Setting Workbook.” She is the Co-Host of a newly annual Women’s Spiritual Retreat titled “Queen of the Mountain” and she is also the Co-Founder of Green Pastures: A Restorative Space set aside for God’s children to find a place online to truly sit still, enjoy fellowship and rest. Jeanice is Six Sigma Green Belt Certified and a Certified Christian Life Coach. She holds a Master's in Business Administration and a Master's in Information Systems. She has been a featured blogger for Forbes Recognized “Boss Babe” and the Women By Choice Network. Jeanice believes that Jesus Christ is her Savior and her desire is for everyone in this world to encounter His transformative, healing and loving, grace-filled POWER. She'd love to connect with you on Instagram @jeanicesherai or Facebook @jeanice.sherai
Make sure to check back next week as another courageous Sister shares her story!
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