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Lady in Pink

Have you ever met someone and were immediately captivated by their presence? No, I am not referring to romantic encounters. I am referring to those moments where you cross paths with someone or see them from afar and their presence captivates, convicts, and motivates you to become a better person. For me, that’s the Lady in Pink. 

The Lady in Pink wore a business skirt suit. Her shoes along with the rest of her Sunday best were bright pink. Not so much so that you were blinded by the color. Rather, you just couldn’t help but notice. She walked with a sense of grace and pride. The pride she carried was not of arrogance and stature but rather of assurance of who she is. While every stride she took was deliberate, they were also graceful and filled with courage. The Lady in Pink wore a smile on her face that complimented her rosy cheeks. Her smile had hints of wrinkles from the years of wearing the beaming grin she carried through both on the mountain top and in the years of the valley. Her hair curled it’s natural shining white revealing her age of wisdom. The Lady in Pink while short in stature carried a stance of a woman on a mission; a mission of purpose. 

My husband’s gentle hands occasionally brushed past mine as we settled into the back row. We were late to church but got there just in time for the last song before the transition into the sermon. This is when I spotted the Lady in Pink. The lead pastor called for the students in high school to lead a time of prayer and altar call. The stage was lined with students ready and eager to pray. Some of the congregation responded but reluctantly. Mostly those around the age of high school students prayed for each other. The Lady in Pink in her deliberate yet grateful and courageous stride walked up to the altar. She walked up for prayer from one of the youngest students and then slowly made her way to each student that was waiting to pray for someone. She patted each one on the shoulder; a sign of goodwill and encouragement. Each with a sense of courage sparked as she walked and met each of them where they were at.

I was moved to tears. I was overwhelmed at the sight. When I looked over to my right, I caught a glimpse of my husband’s eyes and saw he too was captivated by the Lady in Pink. You couldn’t help but be moved by a woman who by society’s standards has aged and lived a life enough to need prayers, yet she humbly approached the altar and received prayers from someone whose experience of life was short compared to hers. The Lady in Pink exemplified youth despite having seen twenty years over her nominal life of three scores and ten. The Lady in Pink wrecked the pride in me and tugged my heart to yield to submission in my walk. The Lady in Pink opened my eyes to a way of living in confident freedom. The Lady in Pink…. Despises youth not, rather she walks in it.

“Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, and in purity.”
1 Timothy 4:12
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You can do hard things!

Yes you! You who’s reading this right now. YOU can do hard things. You might be thinking, really Vashti?! You don’t even know me. You’re right. I don’t know you, but if there’s anything I do know it’s that the very things you feel are impossible to do or are incapable of doing are the things you can do.


If you know me, you know that I enjoy running. I am currently training for a half marathon at the end of October and then a full marathon in April. As much as I enjoy running, it’s not always fun and easy. There are days where I just don’t want to run. There are days I convince myself I am physically incapable to take on the miles set before me. On said days, I have to muster up everything inside of me to be make an effort to take each stride. After the first stride and each stride that follows I gain a sense of confidence. I gain a sense of knowing that I can and the I can after each mile shifts to I will to I did. Sort of a mind over matter kind of battle.


What are hard things for you to do? Let me help you out if you’re having a hard time thinking this question through. I did some research and here’s what people have admitted are some of the hardest thing for them to do:

  1. Get Married.
  2. Quit their job.
  3. Overcoming Addiction.
  4. Leave toxic people behind.
  5. Say no.
  6. Be okay with failure.
  7. Confront conflict.
  8. Speak out about injustice and truth.
  9. Trust.
  10. Take risks.

Does any of those resonate with you? Maybe it’s not as complicated as the 10 mentioned. Maybe it’s as simply complicated as waking up early and implementing a discipled lifestyle. That’s a hard thing to do, but guess what? You can do hard things!

A couple days ago I was scrolling through Instagram Reels and a particular Reel stood out to me. It’s one of those motivational ones. This one gave me goosebumps and shattered the glass my life so gracefully and comfortably nestled in. I don’t remember verbatim but here’s the gist of what the Reel said,

You are currently at the age your younger self envied. Are you doing, being and living what your younger self envied?

Boy did my life flash before my eyes. While I do have a great life and I am thankful for where God has placed me, there are things I have dreamed of doing that I’ve deemed as too hard. I’ve become okay with the bare minimal that I don’t even try. Why try when it’s too hard, right? Why try when there’s the possibility of failure? Fear of failure is one of the biggest reason why we get held back. It’s one of the greatest reasons we don’t try. Unfortunately, you and I have misunderstood what failure is. Failure isn’t the end all. Failure is not the stopping point. Failure is actually the beginning.

Winston Churchill, former prime minster of the United Kingdom during World War 2, infamously said,

Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.

Winston Churchill

Winston Churchill got it right. He shifted his understanding of success as not a final destination and expanded his view on failure as not the end all. The courage to continue counts. And you my friend can do just that. Yours and my greatest fear should never be of failing, rather it should be of never trying. Can I tell you, trying to do something you’ve convinced yourself is too hard to do is one of thee most liberating and freeing feelings. Don’t believe me? Try for yourself.

I will leave you with this verse from 2 Timothy 1:7,

For God did not give us a spirit of fear but of power and of love and of self-control.

While the context of this verse directly ties to our loyalty to Christ and the gospel message, I believe the message can be applied here too. As Christ followers we have been equipped with courage to do, love that extends grace when we encounter failure and self-control to know the difference between wisdom and falsehood in disciple. We were not designed to be timid examples of Christ. We were created to live bold, and in living bold requires us to do the hard things. God didn’t foolishly give us gifts, talents, dreams and goals. In living out our purpose, we do the hard things.

What have you convinced yourself is hard to do but you know you must do? You can do hard things!

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If you weren’t afraid…

What would you do if you weren’t afraid? That is a bit broad for a thought-provoking question, don’t you think? Let’s narrow it down some. What would you do if you were not afraid of…

  • the opinions of others
  • disappointing those around you
  • not making money
  • disappointing yourself
  • failing

Many of us are scared. The truth is, fear have caused us to reject doing things we are passionate about or even things that we believe God has called us to but the world would say is too risky. We’ve chosen to live in fear, and as a result, we lack the courage to live bold. Living bold does not remove the presence of fear, rather, living bold tells fear it has no control over the decisions we make. But before we get into living boldly, let’s talk about living in fear.


One of the most freeing moments in my life is when I stepped away from fear and did what I believed God had called me to do. For some, this may seem small, but for me, this was one of the bravest things I could have done at the time. The end of Spring 2016 I packed my suitcases in obedience and traveled nearly 16 hours across the world to the continent of Africa. My final destination was Egypt, however along the way I stopped in Rome, Italy. In order to not share too much and jeopardize the work being done by those who are following the call of the Great Commission on an international scale, I will tell you more about the bravery entailed on this great endeavor.

Prior to 2016 I had never traveled on my own internationally. Now factor in that the only languages I know are Belizean Creole (dialect of English) and American English. So really, all I know is English. I was flying to two countries. The first speaking Italian and the second, Egyptian Arabic. I would be flying across the continent for a wonderful 16 hours to a land and people I could not fully communicate with. Months leading to the preparation of my internship, I remember fear overwhelming me. Fear of the unknown, fear as to whether I really heard from God or not, fear for my life and fear that I would not be able fundraise all the funds I needed for the months I would be staying overseas.


From a medical standpoint, fear weakens our immune system and can cause cardiovascular damage, gastrointestinal problems (ulcers and irritable bowel syndrome), and can even decrease fertility. Studies have shown that fear can lead to accelerated aging and even premature death. It’s fair to say, that fear is powerful.

Fear first starts off as a thought. Once our brains latches on to fear, it triggers a strong physical reaction in our bodies. Our brain then sends down alerts to our nervous system to respond or in most cases a lack there of. For the majority of people, fear presents itself through constricting reasoning and judgement making. While “playing it safe” isn’t all bad, living in fear stops us from living and doing. We are too scared to take the plunge, too scared to move and too scared to take the risk. All thanks to a thought of “what if…” Think on that for a second. You’ve allowed a thought to cripple and shape the way you live and do life. Fear, appears so small, but holds tremendous power over our lives. Only if we allow it to. 


Now back to my internship in Egypt. Had I allowed fear to hold me back, I would currently be writing about my biggest regret. Egypt was one of the bravest and right things I have done outside of marriage. I felt a deep urge in my heart from God to go and that is exactly what I did. I took a leap of faith and did! I made it there and back safely despite language barriers. The finances made its’ way long before my time to depart form the United States. In the end, I had plenty to leave in Egypt as a blessing to those who accommodated me during my stay. But was it all smooth sailing? Absolutely not.  In the airport both in Italy and Egypt, I had to figure out where I was going. I asked a lot of questions and had to step out of my comfort zone and make friends and communicate with my hands and the little words I studied in order to prepare for my time overseas. I was held in the airport due to riots and bombing. I was lost a couple times in making my way back home to my flat in Cairo. I was homesick quite a bit and even felt lonely at times among hundreds of people. That’s just to name a few. But do you want to know something? I have no regrets. I grew immensely during the months I was in Egypt. I made lifelong friendships, shared the gospel message and learned stories of those who are very different from me in culture but very similar in nature. I ate with strangers who became family, and learned a language that was tremendously challenging yet, beautiful all the same. I would go back in a heartbeat. I would take the risk and step away from fear immediately to live the life I once lived during the months I stayed overseas.

Too often we allow fear to hold us back. The “what if’s” in life control us that our life lived on earth is the same each day, week, month and year. The one thing we will never regain is, time. What we do with it, is wildly important. We either live and do, or simply be and remain the same. 


To live bold is to live with purpose. It is living objectively aimed towards intention, without reservations. Living bold is freedom. It is an overwhelming confidence that pushes past the reservations of the unknown. While boldness doesn’t remove the aspect of fear and doubt, it does challenge both and push past the uncertainty as a means to live courageously. Courageous living takes leaps and jumps. It says I may not understand it all, but I will live and do. One of my favorite quotes is by an unknown author. The author states, 

Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God.

The idea here is that God is good and His goodness is understood and trusted that while we may not understand everything and we may not have it all together, we will place the unknowns into His hand and live bold. In Christianity, living bold, is living by faith. Living by faith requires trust and belief in things we cannot see and hope for, and living as if it currently exists. That’s not blinding living, rather that is boldly believing. Bold living requires risk taking. Here’s the truth, whether you choose to play it safe or take risks, it doesn’t remove the opinions of others not does it remove the grounds to disappoint those around you and yourself. Failure and lack of monetary security still exists. If all your fears can play out both in the risk and the lack there of, then might as well just take the risk, right? So my question to you is this. 

What would you do if you weren’t afraid? Whatever that thing is, do and live bold. You have the choice to to forget everything and run or face everything and rise.