October of 2017 will remain in my mind to remind me that, God can destroy whatever stronghold that sets out to destroy us (2 Corinthians 10:3-5) as we do our part to not lose sight of our first love. This first love demolishes the strongholds in the first place—the Love of God. 

I was invited to be a guest speaker for a Spanish-speaking Women's International Conference retreat in Acapulco. The weekend's theme was based on the work I had done personally to heal from childhood trauma, which led to my book Caring for the Child Within. That weekend, God moved powerfully on my heart and the heart of the 400 women that traveled to hear the lessons God placed on my heart. From that weekend, I have a box full of items that represent so many memories. One of the things is a bracelet that became unforgettable to me. 

Sunday, October 15, 2017, I taught a lesson entitled; "It's time to live free in Christ'' This was the last lesson I gave that weekend. After my speech, a woman who was in line to greet me left me a valuable lesson. 

After I preached, we sang a closing song, and everyone was dismissed. The weekend conference was officially done.  The line of women eager to connect with me began to form. Within the woman that greeted me, there was one who asked me to help her remove the bracelet on her wrist. Just to give you, the reader, an idea. Whenever I finished speaking for an event, I mentally prepared to engage and be 100% present for every woman who waited in the line to greet me. They share powerful words of encouragement and how the lesson touched them personally. It takes a conscious decision and lots of trust in God to not be distracted by whatever is going on around me. At the end of these greetings, I am completely exhausted and in awe of God. I am also ready to turn my brain off and chill for hours.

There I was, ready to be 100% engaged when the woman comes,and asks me to help her remove her beaded bracelet. I had prepared to listen to every woman, NOT to help remove jewelry. A critical thought passed by my mind, and anxiety sprouted in me when I saw the long line of women behind her. Why is she asking me to help her remove this bracelet? Why didn't she ask the women standing behind her or in front of her to help her while she was standing in the line? I quickly moved on from the fleeting critical thought, refocused, and helped her.

Once I removed the bracelet and handed it to her, she said: "will you give me your hand please?" She then took the bracelet and put it on my wrist and, with tears in her eyes, shared the following statement: "Thank you because this weekend God has used you to break chains in my life. I feel liberated, and I hope this bracelet reminds you of the impact you had on my life." I felt shocked and didn't know how to respond, I just said thank you and gave her a hug. I proceeded to speak to the next woman in line. 

I kept that bracelet on my wrist for a week. I didn't even remove it to shower. Having that bracelet on meant something I could not explain, I just wasn't taking it off. I will often stare at it, remembering the time in Acapulco and playing the scenario that led to having this bracelet on my wrist. Eventually, the elastic band of the bracelet came loose, and I took it off. I kept it where I could see it. God had a plan, and it wasn't for me to remember the woman that gave me the bracelet but to imitate her action. 

"Follow me as I follow the example of Christ" 1 Corinthians 11:1

As the days passed, I became a little sad; I tried to remember her face and name, but nothing. I wished I had paid more attention to her, at least remember her name. Her action left me speechless, and I was sad and upset that I could not remember her. Her face practically faded from my memory. 

One day in my time with God, I was reading about the bleeding woman in Mark 5 and meditating on her actions. The courage of the bleeding woman always touches my heart in so many ways. All of sudden the woman that gave me the bracelet came to my mind, not her face but, her actions.  Although the line to greet me was long when her turn came, she did not focus on who was behind her. Her only focus was to thank me and for me to hear how grateful she was for the things I shared. Maybe as she stood in line waiting for her turn to come, she figured that words could not express her feelings and decided to give me her beaded bracelet. It was important to her that I knew the impact that God had in her life through me. Her action made her someone memorable in my mind and my heart.

"And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better, she grew worse. When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak because she thought, "If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed." Immediately her bleeding stopped, and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering. At once, Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, "Who touched my clothes?" "You see the people crowding against you," his disciples answered, "and yet you can ask, 'Who touched me?' But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it." Mark 5: 25-32 NIV

The woman in the book of Mark has no name, but what she did was so unforgettable that the Bible says that Jesus couldn't get her out of his mind; he kept looking to see who she was. What she did was unforgettable.

Imagine if we decide to be unforgettable despite our circumstances. How many testimonies of God's power would we be able to share with others? If we chose to be radical and decided to not focus on what we see but on what we do not see (Hebrews 11). So many hearts would see God's love through us. The woman who gave me the bracelet at the conference did something that I will not forget. She reminded me that when I allow God's power to work through me and I am not afraid to take a risk to please God, he will work miracles in others and in me.

"Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers." 1 Timothy 4:16

With the pandemic and the restrictions, it's easy not to be radical, and be quick to isolate. We unconsciously don’t give our best to God and soothe yourself by believing it is because of the pandemic and when it passes we will radically be radical for God again. These times can make us forget that God requires the same commitment that he asked of us pre-pandemic. Matthew 16:24 is not under quarantine. Denying ourselves is not a biblical call under certain circumstances. 

I will be the first one to say, it's easy to be a mediocre disciple right now. I have to wrestle to not become complacent in my walk with God and be apathetic with those around me. 

Deciding to take action when the Spirit prompts me to make an unusual move is not easy. My people-pleasing, my insecurities, and fears all compete to keep me stuck in a cycle of self-reliance vs. God reliant. 

"What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task. I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and they will each be rewarded according to their own labor. For we are co-workers in God's service..." 1 Corinthians 3: 5-9

I remember being invited by Myriam Tijerina Vargas, Women Ministry leader of the Mexico City Churches, to be their guest speaker for their women's day event. I felt that fear that shows itself before doing something outside of my comfort zone. As I went to the stage to preach, my legs began to shake. Before me there were over 700 women ready to hear the message. The woman who is a good friend of mine introduced me and gave a breathtaking introduccion. When she first started introducing me I felt moved but then she kept going and going, I then began to feel very anxious. I still remember sitting in the audience hoping she will hear me saying please stop talking, my name, where I am from a few details about me is good. Is funny because later as we had tea she asked me, what did you think of my introduccion of you. She wanted to make sure I felt that she was really grateful I was there. Because she asked me and we were becoming close friends, I shared how grateful I was and also how anxious I felt when she kept going on and on. She laughed and said: “I can see that I did get a little carried away. Next time I will just write it all in a card” 

Anyway, after her introduction my heart was beating so fast as now I felt there was an expectation from the audience after such a heart moving introduccion. It was my first time being the keynote speaker for a women's event of this magnitude. I took a deep breath and opened with a prayer. It was all I could do to calm my anxious heart. As I prayed I could hear God whisper and quiet my spirit by reminding me that He is at work in me. It was not me they came to hear. It's what he placed on your heart to share with every woman in that hall. After that prayer I proceeded to confidently share the things God put on my heart for them, remembering that it is not my words that transform lives but God's power. 

Whether in front of one person or a thousand, we can choose to be unforgettable for the glory of God. Maybe people won't remember our names; that is okay as long as our interaction with them reminds them that God loves them and that all things are possible with Him. Luke 18:27. 

Being unforgettable requires being radical and keeping 2 Timothy 1: 7 near our hearts, so when other things tempted us to be mediocre, we can remember that God has given us everything we need to live a radical life that pleases Him.

"For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline."