As women, one of our greatest assets is the power of influence - the ability to strengthen, nurture and undergird the inner underdog in the fiercest of fights against one's self.

Recently I read one of the most flattering and insightful pieces about the life and filmography of Octavia Spencer, who won an Oscar in 2012 for the best-supporting actress.  The esteemed actress who played Minny Jackson, a strong-willed maid in the movie The Help and a NASA mathematician in last year's Hidden Figures she epitomized the uniquely unpolished role of a woman bonded to the indelible truth of esteeming others - even when nobody sees it but you! 

The costliness of acceptance is only profitable when the distinctiveness of one's uniqueness is defined by the ONE who sees beauty in their unpolished areas!  In actuality, you're not a victim, you're simply different because you've been defined by the promises of Him whose words your life has been confirmed. 

As millions of women all over the world watched the Golden Global Awards as Oprah Winfrey, one of the most celebrated women of our times became the first African American to receive the Cecil B. DeMille award for lifetime achievement, it became clear the common thread of our championship is not predicated merely on the color of our skin or the texture of our hair, but the ineffable backdrop in which we live and voice the distinctiveness of our truths out loud!

            Whenever we seek change in our lives the viability of one's uniqueness should never be predicated upon the dysfunctionality of another's opinion.  Choose to see change as an enhancer of the treasurable treasure residing within then allow Christ to make the necessary adjustments to the unpolished area of your life.  Now ruminate on that for a minute . . . . .

It's the New Year 2018 and for many of us, it's the year of new beginnings, grinds, and hustles, vision boards, modified spheres of influence and other like hopeful expectations of self and others!  Our social media outlets are streaming, trending and unveiling in epic proportion our conferences, summits, concerts, pop-up salons and stores with a fierceness and urgency in an attempt to capitalize upon showcasing the better of one's self! 

“There’s an old story of two shopkeepers who were bitter rivals. Their stores were directly across the street from each other, and they would spend each day keeping track of each other’s business. If one got a customer, he would smile in triumph at his rival. Day and night they taunted each other as each strove to outdo the other. Pretty soon it got to be more than a game; it became a match in jealous hatred and anger.

It's true, we only evolve into the extraordinary when we cease from self-polishing our flaws and learn to unapologetically embrace the limp of being uniquely unpolished.  Choose to grant access to those who value the worth of your process against the backdrop of your limp! For real, if our imperfections don't deter Christ from loving or using us, why should it be a deterrent to you or anybody else?  Now ruminate on that for a minute . . . . .