For years I have dreamed of making a difference in this world. For doing something beyond myself. Something big and meaningful and something I could never accomplish on my own. I read inspiring books and blogs about women who took risks and changed not only their world, but many lives around the globe. I was inspired. I was in awe. I yearned to make a difference. To really touch and affect other people. To make a tangible difference and make my mark on this world.
I lost that dream. I began to believe that as a young stay-at-home, homeschooling mom to five kids that it just wasn’t my season. And being super introverted and indecisive that maybe it wasn’t in the cards for me at all.
Then, one day I found out about a company called Trades of Hope and the mission that they have to make a tangible difference in women’s lives all over the world. And a little spark was ignited in my heart. A little voice in my head said, “This. This is something I can do with what I have where I’m at.” I don’t have to travel thousands of miles (although I would love to!!!) to have an impact on people on the other side of the world. All I have to do is invite people to buy better, to think about others outside of themselves, and to join me on this journey.
I know my limitations as a salesperson, but I also know my level of passion that sometimes, quite frankly, overwhelms even me. And I made a choice to let my passion outweigh my fears. I’m not going to sit here and tell you that it’s been super easy and comfortable and that I haven’t had any doubts or lost faith in my ability to do this and make a real difference. But when I look back on the last 3.5 months and see that I have not only touched hundreds of artisans lives, but also donated over a dozen chicks to a family in Africa, provided a month’s worth of food to a child in Haiti, provided a waterwheel to a woman in India, donated 3 mama kits to impoverished pregnant women in Uganda and am thisclose to donating a bicycle to a girl in Cambodia. I am blown away by the way God has used me to change the world in the last 4 months. And for those who really know me know how much I have changed, grown, stretched, and stepped out of my comfort zone. All because my desire to live a life of significance and purpose is greater than my desire to stay comfortable. I am willing to become uncomfortable to make someone else’s life more comfortable.
Because when you stop dreaming you lose hope. When you have no hope for the future you lose your joy. And when you have no joy for life, what do you have? This is the reality for so many women around the world. No dreams. No hope. No joy. So I’m on a mission to bring joy, restore hope, and ignite the ability to dream in others. I pray that each one of you finds that thing that you’re passionate about and allow yourself to dream about how you can change the world with those passions. And I challenge you to let the seemingly “impossible” inside of you spark and ignite someone else’s “impossible”. I believe in you! And I know your dreams can change the world!
“I will bless you with a future filled with hope--a future of success, not of suffering.”
-Jeremiah 29:11 CEV
