Seven Days of Being a Woman Up LeaderНамуна

DAY 1: The Anti-gravity Leader 

We’ve all had bad days, but when you’re a leader you don’t get the luxury of having a complete meltdown in front of people. There have been many times when I’ve had to lead–not just in a meeting, but on a platform, with a smile on my face, encouraging others–while sometimes suffering on the inside. 

Just a few hours before opening night of my last women’s conference (which was also the launch day of my book), I got a note from my doctor saying that a skin biopsy had come back cancerous. I guess my 1980’s hobby of “laying out” while lathered in baby oil had caught up with me. I couldn’t help but worry, not knowing how much it had spread, because I’ve heard that dreaded word cancer before. 

I’m a 28-year cancer survivor. I also worried because I had ignored that innocent-looking spot on my back for years, despite my husband’s concern about it. That night, you would have never known I had received that phone call. 

As in other times, I challenged myself to put away the fear, and to lead. Some of my greatest leadership growth spurts have come through doing things while afraid, hurt, or disappointed - not allowing myself to take the easy road or to quit or to settle into my comfort zone.  

 Deborah, who we will be reading about together over the next seven days, was a woman who led in a difficult time for her nation. They were having one collective “bad day”! Sisera and his army were coming against them, and they were literally sheltering in place (sound familiar?!) in fear of the battle that they knew was inevitably in front of them. 

In the middle of this crisis, God calls Deborah to LEAD. I like to call her an anti-gravity leader. She pushed past the weight of fear, the weight of the unknown, the weight of negativity, and stepped up to lead her nation to a great victory. 

How did she do this? She brought her heart to a place of surrender. Whether it’s been an unexpected diagnosis, the loss of a loved one, or the betrayal of a friend, I have had times where I’ve had to surrender my will, my emotions, and my heart to God in order to lead. I could have held tightly to my grief, but instead I cast my cares upon the Lord, and He proved to me that He cared and that He was capable to carry my burdens and to carry me. God was calling me to serve people in the midst of heartache, and I had to have a heart that said “YES!”. 

We are all called to be anti-gravity leaders. After 2020, we are well-acquainted with what it must have felt like for the people of Israel in Deborah’s time. They were sheltered in place, filled with anxiety, maybe annoyed with their families, having to homeschool and do Zoom calls….you get the point!  But no matter what the year holds, what trial you are standing in front of, or what thing is happening in the world, YOU are called to lead. 

It’s time to WOMAN UP!