Hey ya'll. So these last few weeks have been trying. From living in two states right now, my daughter starting her first day, managing a business, and taking on new roles. I have been absolutely busy. The frustrating part about my busyness is that I wasn't necessarily seeing the profit margins. I wasn't seeing the financial payoff for all of the hustling and interviewing and postings that I have been doing.
Let's face it, a girl still has bills. Can I be transparent with ya'll? You know I like to be transparent and real. I love the fact that I can get up and decide how much work I am going to do. I love the fact that I am my own boss and making several strides. I love the fact that I am working for the Kingdom of God. Quite honestly, I love being an entrepreneur. I am just frustrated at the fact that I am a new entrepreneur. I am frustrated that I don't necessarily know all of the ins and outs of business and I rely heavily on friends and associates to put me on game. And truthfully, I wouldn't say I like the fact that I have to rely on friends and family the way that I am right now.
I don't know if you saw it on Facebook recently, but I posted a word of encouragement because of how overwhelmed I was feeling. It was more for me, but I thought others could relate to it. So I posted it. I was in the middle of complaining and being frustrated when the Holy Spirit gently whispered: You Still Have Access. I was like "what??" Then it clicked. I understood. Here's what I learned.
1. Still. There is value in the word still. According to Webster's Dictionary, when the word "still" is used as an adverb as in this case, it is used as a function word to indicate the continuance of an action or condition. It can also mean nevertheless, always, continually. I laid in the bed and just started to cry. No matter what was going on, what barriers I had to face, I had continuous access to God. My Father. My position in Him hadn't changed. What He said hadn't changed. The promise was still secure. There's that word again, still. I reflected on the way I was speaking about the situation. I realized that I had to change how I was talking. I was talking as if the barrier had really prevented me from access to what God said. Then I started thinking Matthew 17:20 when Jesus tells the disciples that with faith the size of a mustard seed, you can speak to a mountain and tell it to move. There are barriers in my life and my language, my self-talk was not consistent with my identity. Not consistent with what I believed God to have said about my future.
Listen ya'll. At that moment I began to speak to the barrier and tell it to move! I learned the power of my voice. My voice is in my books. My voice is in my podcasts. My voice is in going LIVE on social media. My voice and the power of my voice commands the barrier to move. What are you saying about your situation? What are you saying to the barrier? It required me to reflect on the fact that I still had access to myself. I still had access to what I owned. I still have access to what God had given me and I had to change my type of busyness. I could not longer give my barrier permission to continue to block what I needed to get where I needed to be. I had to switch it up and let my self-talk come into alignment with purpose!
2. Then in my prayer time, I started to reflect on the times where barriers seemed like they could have gotten in the way. I thought back to the encounter the widow had with the Prophet Elisha after her husband died. (2 Kings 4:1-7). Her husband was the sole breadwinner in the house. She was a homemaker and her husband owed a debt. The debtor was coming to take her children into slavery as compensation for the debt. She didn't have access to the Prophet Elisha- her husband did as he was a part of Elisha's team. She went to him and explained what was happening. He gave her instructions to use what she had. She said she had nothing left at first, then remembered a little jar of oil. He told her what to do with the oil. One little jar filled every pot, bowl, and jug that she had borrowed from neighbors! She was able to pay the debt and she and her sons lived off the rest of it! What??
Listen, it was that moment that I realized that I need community. I need the help of my family and friends. But I also need to follow the instructions that God gave me. God placed me in divine relationships for a reason. And sometimes, it's who you are connected to that has the access that you need! Sometimes who you are connected to that can be the barrier! I made the fundamental decision to assess my relationships to understand my access. Who are you allowing to have access to you? Who is allowing you to have access to them? I'm grateful for the relationships that I have. The divine partnerships. I'm grateful. When I got outside of myself and complaining about what was going on, I was able to see beyond the temporary emotion I was feeling. I stopped emotional reasoning. I made some calls and got busy with the instructions I was given. Teamwork!
3. I can honestly say that I learned that I had to change my system. My system of operation had some shortages in it. You know? I had to literally change operating systems for my business. Before I did that, I had to dig deep and think about what I was thinking about. I realized that I am not always the one in control. I wasn't an imposter but I was STILL flowing in purpose. Just because it isn't happening the way I want it to, doesn't mean it's not happening. Sometimes, things change and change is an indicator of growth. And guess what? As I grow, so does my type of access. It increases!!! The very fact that we still have access in the midst of barriers and challenges means we are being prepared for a greater level of access and responsibility. The level of influence that I have grows as I grow. My system has to be prepared to handle the influx. The increase. It's coming for sure!
With all that being said, I still have access and I'm grateful for it! I'm being patient with myself and it feels good! I'm learning every day in the business of entrepreneurship. I'm learning more about my purpose. I want to share the insights I learn along the way to help ya'll too. Remember, we have ACCESS!!!
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