The end of a decade
“It’s the end of a decade!” she said as if it was a big deal. Well, IT IS A BIG DEAL!!! My friend and business partner, Gilda, was encouraging our group to reflect on what we want to accomplish professionally by the end of this year. As I did (reflect), it made me realize on the importance of the last 3 months of 2019. It is the end of a decade and although I’m not going to name every single accomplishment, I will say that it’s overwhelming to think of all the things that happened in the last 10 years. It’s especially hard to find the appropriate words to express the gratitude for what the last 10 years represent. I’ve met so many interesting and inspiring people, I’ve learned and experienced so much, I’ve invested in my personal growth and have grown as a person and as a professional, but most importantly, I’ve seen my mentees benefit from my growth.
Best experience: I have several good ones in this area. I turned 50, both my children graduated from college and became independent. I became part of the John Maxwell Team. The top one has got to be that I became a grandmother!
Am I on track to completing the goals I committed to? This year I chose the word “completion” to describe it and there are 2 things I committed to do to honor my mom: Created The ELISA Foundation and get it to become a 501(c)3 organization and write a book about her. I’m on track!!!
Did I learn something new? For years I’ve been scared to learn how to swim and not only did I self-taught myself, I’m also teaching others how to do it!
Did I influence anyone in a positive way? I’d like to think that I did. I’d love to gather testimonials of peopleI believe I’ve influenced in one way or another. One environment that helped me to influence those around me was my studio. I helped influenced Cari, an extremely talented dancer and dance teacher open her own business. She came to my studio to teach a Zumba class and soon after, I named her the Director of a kids dance program and from there she open her own studio! I’d like to think that I influenced Jennifer, Edith, Yana and Catalina grow spiritually. I know I influenced my son, Joshua, into getting involved in the choir and get involved in the dance fitness industry. I know I’ve influence a few to become entrepreneurial and follow their dreams!
As I continue to reflect on this decade, I know there are many more things I could mentioned. I remember the beginning of 2010 being one of the most difficult years of my life personally, spiritually, physically and mentally. These are related somehow because I uncovered the truth about a lie that a person very close to me was living and it affected our relationship very much, the fact is that it was in the beginning of this decade that I realized I couldn’t put people on a pedestal. It was eye opening and it shook my faith during the process and drained me mentally but I know I became spiritually stronger. Phisically, I had a scare with one of my regular annual tests and a biopsy came back “abnormal”. You know this entailed tons of additional tests and prayers hoping for me to be completely out of danger. Mentally and without giving too many details, all of those circumstances affected my mental wellness. The beginning of this decade was also when I left Corporate America after a successful career and became an entrepreneur, socially responsible and well, yes, FREE!!!
Today, I can assure you that I’m still going through my journey, and as a human being, I might still fail at many things and fall but getting up and understanding that life if too short and therefore, I need to continue to pursue happiness, no matter what and, OF COURSE, live a life of significance just like my mom did.
Intersession or Intervention?
Intersession or Intervention? The message I heard this Sunday was so meaningful to me. Maybe it’s because I’ve been interceding for several people throughout the last few years! Some of my prayers have been answered almost immediately and others have taken a long time, but the point of the message was to intercede for others, today! The more I meditated on this, the more it made me think about the difference between interceding for someone and intervening for someone. I’m a life-long learner and love to compare and challenge myself to improve in everything I do. So, of course I googled both words and found the following on the dictionary:
Intersession: A prayer to God on behalf of another person
Intervention: Interfering in some course of events
The best example of an intercessor is my mom. She was gifted with a spirit of intercession that revealed the need before the need appeared! The amount of miracles caused by her prayers of intercession are way too many to list. I witnessed whole families get closer to God, women struggling with infertility getting pregnant with twins, couples restoring their marriage, the sick being healed, debts erased, and so many more miracles but most importantly, people realizing the need of God in their lives and the fact that no matter how good or bad we are, nothing can ever separate us from His love.
As funny as it was watching “friends” and see their “interventions”, my mom took interventions very seriously. I can recall a time she was intervening for a couple in the family, who was arguing and on the verge of divorced, and someone, from the family of the wife, literally hit her with a rock during the intervention. This was the cause of my mom having to have her nose operated and the person arrested. The interesting thing is that my mom didn’t hold grudges against this person nor pressed charges and this couple is still together. Yes, my mom’s intervention changed the course of their marriage and their relationship with God.
This is just one example of the type of person she was and why I’m so passionate to share about her. We all can learn from people like my mother. We all have a responsibility to make a difference in other people’s lives. Let’s do it together and be the reason others are impacted positively!