In the Valley of Shadows

The devil lacks creativity. It’s just the valley of shadows…it’s just shadows.

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We have been asked to walk by faith and not by sight, because sometimes you are the breadwinner with no oven. A nation with no government. A provider with no resources. A guarantor with no guarantee.

That, my friends, is a revolutionary.

And revolutionaries move with nothing but the “shameless audacity” to set their sights on a higher calling, to aim higher, and still be standing…barefoot, bleeding, but unshaken…even when it doesn’t look like it…on the solid rock of faith. To have faith in yourself. Faith in your calling. Faith in the unshakeable truth that if your reward is the transformation of lives, then in whatever way, form, or manner this turns out, you are always going to win.

ALWAYS.

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So, your one job is to keep nurturing that light in you. The one that stretches beyond fear. The one that is capable of more than you can even explain. A fire that doesn’t ask for permission and can expand to illuminate and ignite others.

It takes serious risk to do the undoable. Can you imagine doing things people haven’t done before? It is not enough to wish it; you must move. You must…MUST…walk towards the sea before it will part and make a way for you. You must pick the stones and remember exactly who you are before you even see the giant fall. You must give it your all, give everything you’ve got, because you cannot afford to lose. Because the stakes are too high to play small.

You cannot desire revolutionary thought, ideas, intent, outcomes and action if you do not understand, and are not willing to accept that you are the ONE.

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Greatness doesn’t begin with confidence. It begins with doubt. Doubt is the doorway, not the disqualifier. It takes a whole lot of heart to do things that scare you. But when you start, the work quiets the fear. The work quiets the insecurity. That’s how you know you are built for this.

You are destined for great things…do you know that?

To every visionary walking a path that doesn’t yet make sense, here’s what I need you to know: the making is messy, but God wastes nothing.

You’re going to hit seasons where you don’t feel qualified. You will feel completely inadequate for the vision in your hands. You’ll think you don’t have the skills, the money, the clarity, or the confidence. You’ll wonder if you misheard God or overestimated yourself. Maybe you misunderstood….maybe you don’t have the capacity.

You might now see it, but you are being shaped.

This part of the journey…foggy…where nothing is quite working, where people misunderstand you, everything is slow, where the doors are half-open and the answers are half-clear…is a sacred part. This is boot camp. It’s the season that refines and sharpens your edges, toughens your resolve, tests your conviction, deepens your humility, and teaches you to trust the whisper, even when the storm is screaming.

You’re not meant to glide through this. And Ah…it is so painful! It feels like chaos, heart pumping, anxiety, depression..like you are fumbling through the darkness, but something is taking shape. The making is messy, but the Maker is precise. And when He’s done? You’ll be exactly who you need to be.

And please don’t think your insecurities will disappear. They linger and will always try to sneak back in quietly, in the background. Watching from a distance, waiting for the moment you forget who you are. So in those moments, that is when you must remember, relentlessly, who you are, what you’ve done, what you have survived, what you’re capable of, and even what you’re not capable of… and still remember that God called you anyway.

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So yes, I’m inadequate. Sure, I don’t have what it takes. No, I don’t have it all figured out. Yes, I don’t know what I’m doing. Yes, I might fail. No, I don’t have everything I need. But the vision is still mine. He still gave it to me. That means I’m going to sink my teeth into i this vision. Every part of my life was preparation for this. It was navy-seal level training for the version of me that could carry something this big.

Divine preparation. Getting me ready to become the woman who had the insane audacity to do the things I’m now doing.

Do you know why I can work a whole day without eating? Because I’ve known hunger. Do you know why I find joy and meaning in every situation? I’ve faced things. Real things. I’ve dealt with things that tried to break me, and I never lost my light. Even writing on Substack was a channel to help me through uncertain times of growth. There are things I went through that didn’t make sense at the time. But now? Now I get it. There will be seasons you just can’t understand why God let happen to you. It takes vision to kiss closed doors and say “thank you”. It takes immense strength to laugh in the middle of a storm. And trust me, I’ve done both.

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I’ve studied the enemy. The devil is not even that creative. He doesn’t have much up his sleeves. He rinses and repeats the same tricks. Tries the same fears. The same lies. Same tactics. Same fears. Same doubt. That’s why I’ve decided, I’m doing it anyway. He lacks originality.

Because the valley is just shadows. That’s all it is. Shadows.

If I knew then what I know now, I would have thanked God through every single season of my life. So now? I’m doing just that. Even on the days that don’t make sense. Even when it’s hard. Because I know He’s doing something. Always. And I walk through valley of shadows knowing it’s just shaped to scare me.

Listen, I’m laughing at everything life is throwing at me right now because I’ve faced storms ten times bigger… and I laughed then too.

So now that I’m here, doing all this, I will get curious. I will thank God every single day…even when that day doesn’t make sense. I’ll stay suspicious of why He keeps placing me on this path and letting me get knocked out and tested. Because now I know, everything is for a reason.

God said “Follow me, and I will MAKE you.” That’s enough for me. So yes, I might fail. I’m not there yet. Yes, I may not have the spirit for it every day. Yes, I will fail…multiple times. I may not have the technique or the skills yet… but when He finishes making something of me, I’ll be everything I need to be.

Let me become who I want to be first. Then I’ll tell you who I am.

Right now, I’m staying in the making. I’m okay with looking a little foolish, being misunderstood, and learning out loud. I’m here for it. Fully.

You have to believe to the point of insanity, because insane outcomes begin with insane self-belief.

You’ve come this far. You did not die. Didn’t everything somehow work out for you? Didn’t the mistakes, the failures, the disappointments teach you? Weren’t they all lessons? That thing that broke you? It was preparing you.

Look back…You survived. Failures became lessons. Disappointments were training ground. Nothing was wasted. The things that made you cry were preparing you for what’s ahead. Say thank you for all of it.

Everything was a rehearsal for what’s ahead.

Look back and say thank you.

And please, get out of your head. Don’t lean completely on your own understanding. Consult with it, sure. But hold hands with delusion and destiny.

Trust them to carry you.

Never let go. Growth requires disruption.

The dream life comes with the weight we never saw in the vision board…but it’s still the dream. My darling, expand into what you asked for.