Who are you created to be?
The earth cries out longing to see

What sparks life igniting fire to your soul?
Being your authentic self should always be the goal

Break off every word, every religious box, every fear
Learn to love yourself and be loved do you hear?

A unique song longs to burst forth from the depths of your being
Beauty lies within, value worth seeing

Trust who you were intricately created to be
Blaze boldly for all to see

You are fierce, bold, and strong
Hold your head high and release your song

This is a short poem I penned last year. My life journey has been a process of breaking off fear, understanding love, finding my voice and learning to be confident in who God created me. The world needs people who rise up to step into the fullness of who they were created to be. Imagine a world if Martin Luther King JR. never found His voice or if Mohammad Ali never stepped into who he was created to be. What if Joan of Arc was hostage to fear or C.S. Lewis never picked up a pen? Imagine if Tupac or Whitney Houston never pursued music? What if Steve Jobs never took a risk to launch Apple? Power and change come from releasing the song each of us were created to release. Many times, the very things we are called to walk in are the things we face the greatest opposition in. Fear and Intimidation try to hold us back and suppress us from taking hold of the purpose on our lives.

At the core of every human lies a deep desire to be loved and accepted for who they are and to freely walk in the fullness of who they are with no limitations. You can tell when you meet someone walking in their passion for life or someone who just is doing a job to pay bills or out of duty. Granted I have had seasons of working multiple jobs to pay bills that were not my passion; but the dreams inside of me stayed alive. During that time, I was working on things as well behind the scenes toward my dreams. I had a point where I had to choose to go all in with my chips and take a risk to Trust God to come through or to just give up and stay in the cycle of the past. Most people who made an impact on the world took calculated risks to get to where they are. They had to decide to go all in and jump off the cliff. The bottom line comes down to each of us have passions and dreams in us; but we have to have boldness to step into them. This takes courage, hard work, perseverance, humility, a heart that constantly learns and grows, and risk. I would say this process is not for the faint of heart; because at times everything will come against the dream to kill and destroy hope. Many times, we fail, fall down, and have to get back up and keep moving forward. Theodore Roosevelt said, “It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold, timid souls who neither know victory or defeat.” There is something powerful about a spirit that fights and perseveres. I remember this movie Unbroken directed by Angelina Jolie that always inspires me. This movie tells the story of a US Olympic record holder Louis Zamperini. The movie shares an inspiring story of him surviving unimaginable, horrific situations after surviving a plane crash in WWII. He spends 47 days on the sea in a raft with two other men. One dies in the raft, and they have to wrap him to drop him in the sea. He remarkably survives this but then is captured by the Japanese navy and becomes a prisoner of war in two different camps. He faces hunger, physical abuse, and so many horrific things. However, he comes through all of this when it seems all hope is waning the war ends. He is rescued from the camp with the others and finally able to go home. This movie was based off Louis Zamperini’s life. This movie is my favorite; because it’s a story of a man who endured so much adversity, but he never gave up. This always gave me the courage to remember no matter what I face in my life to persevere and never lose hope.

I remember Maya Angelou’s poem I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings it reads:

The free bird leaps
on the back of the wind
and floats downstream
till the current ends
and dips his wings
in the orange rays
and dares to claim the sky. But a bird
that stalks
down his narrow cage
can seldom see through
his bars of rage
his wings are clipped and
his feet are tied
so he opens his throat to sing.
The caged bird sings
with fearful trill
of things unknown
but longed for still
and his tune is heard
on the distant hill for the caged bird
sings of freedom The free bird thinks of
another breeze
and the trade winds soft through the sighing trees
and the fat worms waiting on a dawn-
bright lawn
and he names the sky his own.

But a caged bird stands on the grave of dreams
his shadow shouts on a nightmare scream
his wings are clipped and his feet are tied
so he opens his throat to sing

Tha caged bird sings
with a fearful trill
of things unkown
but longed for still
and his tune is heard
on the distant hill
for the caged bird
sings of freedom

Under the most heinous period of history when slavery was legal which was not that long ago. Innocent people were abused and underwent unimaginable trauma and pain being taken from their homes and forced to be slaves. However, even in this oppression men and women would still lift their voice and sing almost as a rebellious act to hold onto hope even when all hope seemed gone. Many would sing spirituals, songs that came from African roots and tradition. The slave owners would try everything to kill their spirits; but even in this they would not silence their voices.

In this world, many people did not have the privilege or opportunity to carry out the dreams inside of them due to the injustice of the world and hate of people. A lot of us reading this are so privileged to live in the time we do where so many people have raised their voice to fight for justice and to speak out against oppression. We stand on the backs of those who raised their voices and did not stay silent. I know we still have a long way to go in many arenas when it comes to justice and human rights; but people have sacrificed so much for us to make a difference and to break cycles of injustice, lack, and oppression.

I can even think of my family. I know I was called to walk in generational blessings and not the mess surrounding a cycle of lack and dysfunction. My grandpa always was my hero. He believed and invested time and so many things into me and our family that I do not take for granted the imprint and legacy he left on this earth. I want to make the same impact and dare to dream that one day my life will leave a legacy for generations to come. I think all my best qualities came from my grandpa. He served over 25 years in the marines. He worked hard, took care of His family, communicated well, and was a peacemaker. He was the best combination of strength, protection and care. He also helped so many people through his business and real estate investments. He was amazing. All these are the qualities I want to embody in my life. I do not take lightly the sacrifice and hard work of those who came before me. With all my heart I desire to make a positive imprint on the world. I am starting where God is leading me right now in the nations.

My mind can go many ways when I am meditating on a subject and musing on the resilience of people who dared to dream and find their voice. I wrote this to encourage each of you to not be afraid to pursue your passions and dreams. Do not be afraid to reach out to take hold of big things to step into them by faith. Know in the pursuit you are not alone find like-minded people to pursue those things with you. Find your tribe. I have learned finding friends and community are so essential. We each need a safe space for to be free to grow and flourish. I know many people; but there are certain people who become like your tribe where your souls are knit together, and you are safe to be you and to grow. Never force this; but you know when you find likeminded people and can celebrate that. We need each other in this life. I am not content living a life of lack, striving, and being pulled back into the past constantly. I press on toward the mark of the high calling in Jesus leaving the things that were behind I look ahead and choose to be faith take hold of all Jesus has for me (Philippians 3:12-14). For me following Jesus is learning to live a life of constant trust and choosing to walk by faith and not be what I see with my eyes. A lot of my life is choosing to risk everything, leaving everything behind, and choosing to follow Him anywhere no matter the cost. I have found this to be the greatest adventure and in it there is everything I need for this life and in my spiritual walk (2 Peter 1:3).

I watched the Great Gatsby flying back to Zanzibar. I remember reading that book by F. Scott Fitzgerald like three times in high school as I switched schools quite a lot and the whole plot of the movie depressed me. The premise of the movie seemed like people were trapped in a cycle they could never escape. I remember the quote toward the end, “Tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out are arms farther…So we beat on boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.” Gatsby creates this whole facade to get this girl to love him; but in the end it’s meaningless. Reminds me a lot of the book of Ecclesiastes by the late King Solomon, “Everything is meaningless,” says the Teacher, “completely meaningless!” What do people get for all their hard work under the sun? Generations come and generations go, but the earth never changes. The sun rises and the sun sets, then hurries around to rise again. The wind blows south, then turns north Around and around it goes, blowing in circles…Everything is wearisome beyond description. No matter how much we see we are never satisfied. No matter how much we hear we are never content…” Ecclesiastes 1. At the end of the book the conclusion is….”Fear God and obey his commands, for this is everyone’s duty. God will judge us for everything we do, including every secret thing, whether good or bad” The conclusion was to fear God. A friend shared this scripture the other day, “So they shall fear the name of the Lord from the west, And His glory from the rising of the sun, When the enemy comes in like a flood the Spirit of the Lord will raise up a standard against him” Isaiah 59:19. I believe fear of the Lord creates a standard of justice. Where God’s spirit in us cannot sit by and be content with injustice and with cycles that bring destruction and hopelessness. There is more to life then to live constantly striving never to obtain what you were striving for or to obtain it and still be empty inside. As a follower of Jesus, I believe there is a way to break this cycle through Jesus.

I just want to encourage each of you to step out into the things you were made to do. Many people who were called to be entrepreneurs and generate cash faced days of failure and having no money where they doubted, they would ever make it
to that place of success. Fear attacks the areas we are called to prosper in. Most things that agitate us our things we are called to change. We need to learn to reprogram our brain to recognize when fear or insecurity is taking root growing lies in our brains.
Someone could have a desire to have a healthy whole family; but fear stemming from an abusive or dysfunctional family holds them back from committing to marriage or pursuing even relationships. Someone could have a desire to start a business, but fear of failure stops them from even making a business plan and take the first step to be an entrepreneur. Even in my life I have seen patterns of things I know I am called to take but fear and past experiences would try to hold me hostage and paralyze me from moving forward. I have been growing and learning to heal from trauma and unhealthy thought patterns and choose to speak life over the areas I want to take hold of. As you start to break off lies, limitations, to set boundaries, and to walk in the purpose you were made to be you will face opposition. However, you must never give up and hold to who you were made to be.

For me, I think of the example of Jesus’ life. He knew the purpose he was called to here on earth and speaking out truth many times caused people to hate him, especially religious people. I remember one example “…the high priest said to him, “I demand in the name of the living God- tell us if you are the Messiah the Son of God.’ Jesus replied, ‘You have said it. And in the future, you will see the Son of Man seated in the place of power at God’s right hand and coming on the clouds of heaven.’ Then the high priest tore his clothing to show his horror and said, ‘Blasphemy!” Matthew 26:63-65. This was not the only time Jesus ticked off religious people. He often called them out on their hypocrisy and facade of holiness. Jesus did many works showing He was sent from God healing the sick, raising the dead, casting tormenting spirits off people, and he spoke a lot about the kingdom of God. He did things opposite of religion. When a woman was caught in adultery, he rescued her from the religious mob trying to kill her. (This always floored me; because I know they caught the man too but decided to only judge the woman? Also, how in Genesis everyone blames the woman for eating the fruit, but Adam was also there with her). They were acting according to the law of religion. Jesus walked according to the law of love and manifested the kingdom of God. Jesus always defended the poor, broken, and outcasts of society. He came to be a light. I believe each of us have light that God put inside of us and a plan we were created to walk out. There are so many things around us that try to kill the light inside of us. I am always surprised how cruel humanity can be. I always try to see the best in people; but sometimes I get so angry at the injustice and imbalance in the system and in life. However, for me, through trusting in Jesus and learning to walk a life of trusting Him not just looking at things through my natural eyes. I have learned to stay in step with Him and believe His promises over my life and to dare to step into the dreams in my heart. I have seen my life change so much. I mean still like everyone I face rough seasons, broken relationships, and internal struggles but through it all I had this rock to lean on and the comfort I was not alone. Somehow even after seeing jacked up things in religion I still always trusted in God; because for me relationship with God hits different then following rules and laws to try to be made holy. I believe God created us uniquely and even places gifts and passions and desires in us that He wants to partner with us in; but we have to take hold of these things and not let anything hold us back from walking in them.

I reflect on so many things. These musings are a small glimpse into my mind; but I want to encourage you to stand up, flow freely in who you were made to be and release your voice. Stand firm and strong, knowing you are not alone, persevere, hold your head high, and release your song.