I think the greatest advice my mom ever gave me in life was "you can be whatever you want in life, just be the best at it."
I really do feel fortunate that growing up my parents never tried to convince my brothers or I that we should be or pursue anything specific in life. They gave us full freedom to develop into the people God designed us to be and pursue the dreams and passions that He placed inside of us. Never once did they tell us that what we wanted to do wouldn't work or didn't seem feasible or was even silly. They simply let us be who we were and supported us in any way possible.
I remember the time I came home and had to tell my mom that I wanted to move overseas to serve in ministry there. I was so scared that she was going to freak out when I told her that I wanted to move to South Africa. I still remember standing at the kitchen counter in her house at the age of 22 and instead of her freaking out she looked me in the eye and said "girlie, you go and conquer the world while you can."
My mom has always been a fiercely independent woman who was true to herself and fought hard for the things she wanted in life. And she taught me to do the same. I'm so grateful that she gave me the space in life to develop into the woman that God designed me to be instead of trying to make me into who she thought or wanted me to be. And truly I think one of the most freeing things she has ever told me is simply "be whatever you want to be, just be the best at it."
Comments