“I think you chose the wrong person”.
I was 17, right after Dancing with the Stars, and I found myself saying this very statement to the Lord. I remember thinking, “So many girls would really kill for this fame,” but I was terrified and didn’t really know what to do with it.
People would say things like, “You are going to end up like ‘so and so’…No reality TV star stays in their faith”. I looked around at how a lot of young stars ended up in Hollywood and I did not want to end up on the same path. I even told my mom, “If I start to go crazy, lock me in the basement.”
Needless to say, I wasn’t really pursing a platform or fame but at 17 I found myself with millions of people watching me, and I found myself wondering what God would have me do with it.
In the stillness of all these questions and the whirlwind of it all, I remember God just speaking to me and saying:
Just be a good sister and a friend.
Those words took root in my heart and I believe it has been the heart of my ministry the last few years. Through my books, podcast, blogs, and Instagram, my heart has been to speak to those like I would as a loyal sister and loving friend. I decided I would be vulnerable with those who would listen, communicate truth and Gospel to those I encountered, and I wouldn’t point people to their own fleshly desires but I would point them back to scripture and to the Word of God.
That’s what a good sister and friend does and that has been my mission.
The beauty of this is that God has a unique calling on all of our lives, regardless of if we have a “blue checkmark” by our name or not. Lots of girls will tell me that they wish they had a platform like me to influence people. The reality is, if you have just 1 person in your sphere of influence, you have the ability to step into ministry.
In Matthew 28, Jesus gives us the Great Commission, which is to “go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit”. We all have a mission, we all have an influence, and we all have a purpose. Each of us have to press past our fears and insecurities to say yes to living our life out for The Gospel.