For Just Such A Time As This…

A beautiful friend sent me a bracelet for my birthday with the words of Esther 4:14 etched on it. My favorite translation of Scripture states it this way, “Who knows if perhaps you were made queen for just such a time as this?” (Esther 4:14b NLT) It’s my favorite, because, well…who doesn’t like to be called a queen?! Moreover, there’s just something so striking about those words, “for just such a time as this.”

Regardless of your faith, I think we can all come to an agreement that we each are on this earth for a purpose. I believe that God has a very specific purpose for me, and makes that plan more and more evident the closer I grow to Him. I had shared some years ago on this blog my original leading in the realm of fitness and wellness and the very small vision I had–to simply mentor others within my small sphere of influence in ministry because I could see the struggles my colleagues were facing with their holistic health and I wanted to be able to help hold them accountable physically, emotionally, and spiritually in a very personalized way to help them be successful in reaching their individual goals and breaking down the unique barriers that each of them faced. I talked. No one listened. I wrote. No one listened. I gave feedback through the proper channels. No one responded. My great plan to help those that I felt God had led me to help was sitting here ready to go and falling on deaf ears. Heck, and it even was in a sustainable business plan that I could carry out the practice while still doing my primary work with the organization. No bite.

God, I don’t get it? This is GOLD!

Well, life happens, as it tends to, and when my husband and I separately and together came to the realization that God was leading us to a different path with so much clarity and confirmation we couldn’t deny, my clarity in my path forward was that my dream was too small. When my “gold” was ignored, I took that to be a dismissal of my worth–my value–and I tucked away my pretty little business plan as “maybe just something I would pursue in retirement”…but something pretty powerful happened. I had some people affirm the very ideas of that business model in me that it was needed in the public marketplace, not within a niche organization. Well? Could this really be a viable option? And since we all know I don’t just throw caution to the wind–enter feasibility, a few beta testers, sustainability, and what the model would look like on a public/virtual scale for a solopreneur.

Darn it. Not only was it possible, feasible, and sustainable–I looked around and got giddy, thinking, “wait, I would actually GET to do this all the time? This could be my LIFE?”

I was listening to a podcast this morning by my friend and business coach, Caterina Rando, and she was talking about the litmus test for business, in that if you won the lottery today, would you still be doing what you’re doing? Unequivocally, yes. A thousand times yes. There is nothing more exciting in the world to me than walking alongside someone as they are working toward their goals–whatever that goal is–equipping them, educating them, supporting them, and providing the resources and encouragement they need to be successful in the area of holistic wellness. I’m convinced I’m the world’s biggest super nerd, and my clients challenge me more and more everyday to keep learning so that I can continue to provide them with better and increasing knowledge and quality care. I am enlivened and reminded every single morning when I wake that this was sparked out of my own very personal holistic journey to get where I’m at, and that without it, I wouldn’t have been spurred to this time and place for which I have truly been created.

Caterina also has a quote that she uses to “hold a bigger vision for your clients than they hold for themselves,” and my vision grows daily. To borrow the Ironman tagline, “Anything is possible,” and when we keep showing up, keep doing the things, keep faithful to what we value and what our mission is–then that is honored. My original plan wasn’t honored because it was MY plan, not what was truly meant for me–there was a bigger vision, a bigger plan, out there for me, but I first had to have the faith to trust and obey to make it happen.

Heart and Sole Fitness & Wellness is just over six months old. I can’t possibly fathom where the time went, it feels like the ribbon cutting was yesterday. But there’s not enough gratitude on the planet for the people that have come alongside me as clients, mentors, vendors, encouragers, supporters, friends, and even just the curious onlookers (I see you, too!). This is my baby, I’m so proud of where it has come from, and where it’s going. On top of regular client services, the rest of 2020 is packed with workshops and group programs that will be announced next week, and I’m well through the first quarter of 2021 with what’s up next. I hope you’ll be along for the ride with me in discovering what you can achieve for yourself when we work together too.