Women of Influence Wednesday

 I'll be implementing a new series on the blog soon "Women of Influence Wednesday's" highlighting, you guessed it, influential women. While you might be sitting there thinking of Rosa Parks or Princess Diana, Kim Kardashian or Bailey Sarian, some famous name that you've read about, someone some little girl hopes to grow up to be like...well, I'm thinking on a slightly different level. 

This might not be a woman who has to hide from the press just to run an errand, she might not be found in history books or on the cover of magazines, she doesn't have 1 million youtube followers, it may be a name you've never heard before. It will be stories of real women, a friend or family member, someone from church, that quiet woman you always see on lunch, that super friendly cashier at the grocery store...that women you always remember for the simplest or biggest acts. Because at the end of the day, all women have the chance to be influential. 

This thought came to me as I was reading a book recently, Suffering is Never for Nothing, and it posed a question I've read a hundred times before. The type of question you're always afraid to really ask yourself, so you skim over it real quick; like what kind of mom are you? Or what kind of wife are you? You read it, feel that sucker punch to your stomach, and pretend you're actually a semi decent person because you just don't feel like dissecting yourself today...

"I said in my book, Let Me Be a Woman, that I'm not a different kind of Christian because I'm a woman. But I most certainly ought to be a very different kind of woman because I'm a Christian. Do you know people to whom you can point and say, look at him? There is a Christian. Watch that woman's life. She is a Christian. What kind of evidence would your friends see in your life?"

This stuck with me, for a long time...What kind of evidence would people see in my life to show what kind of woman I am? What kind of mom and wife, what kind of Christian I am? The kind of woman they would see is far worse than the kind of woman I hope they would see, because who I am and who I want to be are very different people. Would I be ashamed of who they'd see? Would I be filled with regret, embarrassment or dread at the woman they would see - the woman behind the curtain? 

This brought me back to a single fundamental goal I've always had for myself in every situation, I want to be an influence. I want to be a positive influence on those around me in my life, at work, the store, by the bonfire on the weekends. The people I know, the people I don't. I want to touch their life and make it different, if only in the slightest way. I don't care if they remember my name, face, or remember me at all. I want my presence in their life to leave a fingerprint, a trace left behind, something that impacted them in some regard. I don't care about credit or pats on the back or any form of recognition. For the single moment I may be in their life, I want leave an imprint on their heart.

When I take a moment to really think about this fundament goal I've always had, it saddens me to think about how often I've completely jacked it all up. Damn near ruined it. Had the total opposite effect. Who I am is far different than who I'd like to be. I was 12 when my grandma passed away, and I remember the flood of people who came to the viewing to say their goodbyes. There were people there who only knew her as a bible school teacher in 1st grade...and yet she touched them so deeply that here as an adult, they still remember her and the impact that her love had on them. That, that's the kind of evidence I want people to see in my life. 

This was a much needed reminder for me, that I am a woman of influence, and so are you. Every day I'm given the chance to have an impact on others lives, and it's my choice whether its a good or bad impact. Which made me think of all of the other women in my life who've left their mark on me, many I'm sure who never even knew what an influence they were on me. And I thought, how selfish of me to not share them with you. How selfish of me to hide this tremendous love and influence away just for me. They are worthy of sharing. If in their stories, their questions or answers, if only one of you is reached, only one of you feels the influence - then it's worth it. 

So get ready my friends, to meet many women from different walks of life, different ages, different experiences and different stories. Get ready to meet women of influence, and I hope that through this we all will leave behind the kind of evidence in our life we wished for. I hope that we all learn that every one of us, every day, can be a woman of influence. It only takes one person to leave a mark. What kind of evidence do you want leave in your life? 

If there's someone you'd like to nominate, send me a message at darian.wilk@gmail.com! 

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