By: Sarah Jakes Roberts

There she was standing there watching as life passed her by. It wasn’t that she didn’t desire to move forward, but simply that she didn’t believe she could anymore. It didn’t happen all at once. No. It began slowly, but little by little she began to deteriorate from the person she once hoped she could be. It started with school not going as planned and then friendships falling apart . Everything she thought added value to her eventually left. Her worth was destroyed and her pride left her grasping for whatever would stay. The problem was that the only people who were willing to stay were the ones who were stagnant themselves. It didn’t take long before she started cozying up to the reality something was better than nothing and her life could be worse. Just when she decided to settle and adjust a voice whispered from the innermost part of her soul.

She spent months trying to drown it out. To be truthful there were times when she was even successful at ignoring it, but fully dissipate it never did. The voice followed her as she walked throughout the store. It chased her to her car and found it’s way to her desk. No matter where she went the voice came with her. It spoke above her fears and was louder than her insecurities.

The voice did not care how well she was holding her life together. The only thing that mattered to the voice was the message she needed to receive.

The voice whispered softly at first. It simply said, “live.”  She closed her eyes as the volume increased and dared to challenge her façade.  The voice said, “Don’t be afraid to admit you want more.” The voice demanded her to confess that she deserved more than the shell of a life she was settling for. She spent years trying to silence the voice of her hopes and dreams. She spent decades trying to pretend the voice had no power, but all of that changed the moment that voice went from living in her head to coming out of her mouth.

The words came out sharp, direct, and strong like bullets shooting through the box she had learned to live in.  She never realized that the only thing standing in the way of her and the joy, peace, and love she always wanted was admitting that she still wanted it. Suddenly she was free. She was no longer controlled by the memories.

Each time a thought tried to war against her liberty she declared that she would be free. She was alive. She was inhaling the promises of God and exhaling the fears of her past. The sun kissed her skin and her soul leaped within. She could feel.

The breeze raced through her hair, sent shivers down her spine, and added wind to her wings. She was rising. She was rising far above who she used to be and into a dimension she thought she’d never be able to access. Everyone who thought she’d never do it sat back in amazement as they watched her rise. She didn’t stop to pay them any attention or to check to see if they were comfortable with her ascension. She was on a mission and there was no time to waste. If you wanted any chance at finding her you’d have to discover your own path of unlimited faith. Her feet were made to walk on water and only those who could withstand the waves could be in her space.

That she was Ruth, that she was the woman with the issue of blood, that she was Mary, Martha, Mother Teresa, Rosa Parks, and any other woman who decided the sky was the limit and the possibilities are endless. That she was me…That she is you… That she is unstoppable with God and nothing can stand in her way.