“Tell us how you met Laura…” 

I recently sat in a room where over a dozen women shared how they knew Laura and how she had inspired them. She had encouraged them, challenged them, motivated them, comforted them, helped them to be better women. Yet this same Laura confided to me earlier that afternoon that she was uncomfortable opening up her life to others. That made for two very different perspectives on the same person, but think it’s precisely her hesitancy to share that enables her to inspire others.

I’ve known Laura for over two years, but only last week met her in person. (That might sound crazy, but explaining it will take another blog post.) We sat down to talk “business,” and I was sharing with her some of the things I am learning through an online training course. I mentioned to her that she needs to have business cards to share her art more effectively. She smiled: “I just had some printed up; I hope you’ll like them.”

Like them? I LOVE them!!!  I love her creativity in displaying different paintings on the front, while on the back including not only her contact info, but also her picture. The cards are amazing. I encouraged her, “You should hand them out tonight.” Laura was going to give a talk later that night to women’s group about our identity in Christ. 

But then came the hesitation. As we talked further, she continued to deflect the notion of putting herself “out there” for others.

But as I listened to the women in that room talk, it was abundantly clear that she had put herself out there for each and every one of those ladies in a myriad of ways over the years — in person, over the phone, via email. She had laughed, cried, prayed, talked, rejoiced, and mourned with them. She had offered wise counsel in times of confusion. She had poured herself into them, and they were changed as a result of their friendship with her.

Even now, as she’s reading this, I’m certain she feels uncomfortable with it. Laura doesn’t want to be in the spotlight. She’s quick to call herself a private person. But I want to suggest that what she is is a humble person; someone who sees her own frailty but recognizes that it is Christ in her that brings about change through their relationship with her. 

WHAT INSPIRES YOU?

Laura is a successful business woman as well as a talented artist. But what I love most about her is her humility. She doesn’t try to pretend to be something she’s not. She is open to correction; she invites and welcomes honest critique of her work. She knows the depths from which she has come and where her real hope is found. She is quick to say “Thanks be to God, through Jesus Christ our Lord” when reflecting on her own struggles.

So often in our culture, we idolize celebrity. But how many celebrities have a meaningful, substantial, positive effect on our lives? How much better to be inspired by genuine humility! So who inspires you? Who has touched your life in such a way that you are no longer the same? What is it about them that draws you in? Tell them: Send an email or pick up the phone. If they’re anything like Laura, they will no doubt squirm a bit under the attention, but that’s what makes them so remarkable.

So, Laura, thank you. Thank you for taking a chance on someone you’d never met. Thank you for giving me a voice on this blog. Thank you for enduring my countless questions and emails. Thank you for pointing me always back to our Savior.

And what about those business cards? Well, she was still hesitant, so I owned my role as her assistant and spread them out on a table in the back of the room. I then mentioned casually that ladies could take one as they left. And you know what? They all did.