We were lucky to catch up with Rachael Adams recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Rachael, we’re so appreciative of you taking the time to share your nuggets of wisdom with our community. One of the topics we think is most important for folks looking to level up their lives is building up their self-confidence and self-esteem. Can you share how you developed your confidence?
“If you could see yourself through my eyes, it would change your world,” my husband Bryan told me years ago. I honestly don’t remember the circumstances surrounding his profound statement, but I imagine it was another conversation in which he was trying to help me believe in myself.
Insecurity has been the thorn in my side for as long as I can remember. But, because of my loved one’s belief in me, I’ve taken steps of faith I never dreamed I would. One of the things I never would have believed I’d do is be a podcast host.
To give you a better understanding of why this reality seemed so far-fetched, let me share a bit more of my background. In college, I thought I wanted to major in broadcast journalism. I dreamed of being the next Katie Couric from the Today Show. So, my freshman year, one of the prerequisites was a public speaking class. For my final exam, I had to present a persuasive speech in front of the class. While I don’t remember the grade I received (probably because I wanted to forget it), I do remember the anxiety I experienced. So much so, I dropped the major in defeat and switched to business management.
Fast forward to my life now, communicating to the public through both written and spoken form is the majority of what I do on a daily basis. How ironic, right? In fact, last year I had the opportunity to be a guest on Good Morning America! What a full-circle moment!
Even though it is out of my comfort zone, interviewing women for my podcast has become one of God’s greatest gifts to me. I love getting to know and learn from so many incredible women. In one of the interviews, I was chatting with a New York Times bestselling author about her writing journey. During our conversation, she mentioned that, growing up, her dad always told her, “Someone has to be the next New York Times bestselling author, it might as well be you.” Is it a coincidence that she achieved what her father believed she could do? I don’t think so because belief in others can be a powerful thing.
A prime example of the impact of belief in the life of another is seen through Barnabas’ relationship with Saul in the book of Acts. Before Saul’s Damascus road moment, he had spent his life persecuting Christians. Because of his history, the disciples doubted Saul’s conversion and were afraid of him. But Barnabas believed in Saul and became a bridge between him and the apostles. As a result, Saul became Paul. He was transformed from a persecutor of Christians to a preacher for Christ, and he went on to preach throughout the Roman empire on three missionary journeys. Paul wrote letters to various churches, which eventually became part of the New Testament. Paul’s belief in Christ was the primary source of his transformation, but Barnabas’ belief in him also played a significant part.
Could your belief in someone change their world? Moreover, could it change the world? I believe so! When a person encourages you to believe in yourself the possibilities are endless. Scripture tells us, “Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her” (Luke 1:45).
Imagine the Lord saying, “Daughter, if you could only see yourself through My eyes, it would change your world.” Our belief in him and his presence in us changes our belief in ourselves. Once we have this confidence, it is essential we help others believe in him and understand how that belief makes everything else possible (Mark 9:23).
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
I was born and raised in a small Kentucky lake town. After I married my college sweetheart, Bryan, I moved him there too. We run a family business together and live on a farm with our two children, Will and Kate, and doodle dogs, Buster and Penny. I spend my days taking care of our farm and home. When not doing something with or for my family, I love getting together with friends, cooking, taking walks, and reading Christian nonfiction.
I’m also active in my women’s ministry at my local church. My writing and podcasting journey began when I saw a love offering envelope in the church pew in front of me one Sunday. I sensed the Lord whispering to my heart that, metaphorically speaking, we are His love offerings to the world. So, I began conversing with women who were living faithfully and loving the world around them in practical and tangible ways.
Through my conversations and personal experience, I discovered many of us don’t believe our contributions or offerings matter. This inspired my devotional, A Little Goes a Long Way: 52 Days to a Significant Life. I hope women will be encouraged, realize their God-given purpose, and believe their lives are significant to God’s kingdom. I believe small acts done with great love can have an enormous impact in God’s hands.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
After going away to college and getting married, I returned to my hometown. I briefly worked outside the home until we had our children, at which point I decided to stay home with them full-time. My days revolved around diapers, bottles, and Cheerios. Even though I knew in my heart it was important work, some days it didn’t feel that way.
Both of my children are in school now, so most days I’m alone as I attend to my daily responsibilities, accompanied only by my animals. When my husband, Bryan, comes home from work and asks how my day was, I list all of the things I accomplished: today I read my Bible, made the beds, walked the dogs, wrote a devotion, recorded a podcast, went to the grocery store, paid bills, cooked dinner, washed dishes and clothes, helped with homework, took the kids to their games, etc.
When he asks, he isn’t necessarily asking what I’ve done, rather simply wondering how I am. Even knowing this, I still want the assurance I’m doing a good job. That I am significant.
The thing is, this is a daily occurrence. I lay my head down at night reflecting on what I’ve accomplished, and I wake up to my alarm and start again, back to what I perceive to be square one. Each day I have a choice. Will I begin again regardless of how small my work seems in the grand scheme of things, trusting God is growing me and using it all? Or, will I grow discouraged and be lulled to sleep by the monotony, believing it is all unimpactful and pointless?
This is your choice too. While your to-do list may look different from mine, I have a feeling our hearts are similar. We want our lives to count, but we feel minuscule, like our ordinary everyday moments will never amount to anything. We take stock of the families we were born into, the towns we grew up in, and the positions we serve in, then determine they are of little value. If we aren’t careful, we can start to believe that who we are, where we are, and what we are doing doesn’t really matter.
A remnant of Jews who had returned to Judah to rebuild the temple and their nation had similar thoughts. Many of the older Jews were disheartened when they realized this new temple would not match the size and splendor of the previous temple built during King Solomon’s reign.
But a minor prophet (not a major prophet, ironically) named Zechariah gave the people encouragement from God by saying, “Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin” (4:10 NLT). The NIV translation says, “Who dares despise the day of small things.” Zechariah was trying to communicate to them that bigger and more beautiful isn’t always better. The presence of God on the inside of the temple was what made it significant.
Zechariah’s fellow minor prophet Haggai says it this way, “How does it look to you now? Does it seem to you like nothing” (2:3)? So often, who we are and what we are doing feels like nothing. But friend, because God is on the inside of us, we too are significant.
At the genesis of the world, God created us from dust (Genesis 2:7). With his breath, God brought life to something simple and small. He breathed life into us. He is the One who turns our ordinary lives into something extraordinary. In him, we have significance and everything we do for him is meaningful. May we stop questioning the value of who we are and what we do, and may we accept that we are important to God’s purpose in this generation. He rejoices in what is right, not necessarily what is big. Be faithful in the small. Begin where you are, do what you can, and leave the results up to God. I pray we no longer seek or crave outside affirmation but settle in our minds and hearts that his validation is enough. Keep going and persevere to the end, celebrating tiny victories and growth all along the way.
What do you do when you feel overwhelmed? Any advice or strategies?
Do you ever get overwhelmed by the size of the task in front of you? I certainly do. When I began writing my devotional, I stared at the blank page and blinking cursor, thinking to myself, How will I ever finish this? When we moved houses, I stared at the boxes, tape, and the belongings we had accumulated, and I stood paralyzed, unsure where to begin. When we decided to build a home, we stared at the land before us, excited but overwhelmed by how much needed to be done before we could live there.
You’ve been there too, right? Whether it is your job, family responsibilities, or personal goals, I’m sure you can relate. However, in these moments we have a choice. We can stare at our seemingly insurmountable tasks and stay stuck, or we can stare at our Savior and start moving toward our goal, one step at a time. I don’t always get this right. But, when I do, I’m amazed by what a difference a little movement can make.
With my writing, one letter turned into one word, which turned into one sentence, which turned into one paragraph. The paragraphs together made a page and then a devotion. Fifty-two devotions later, my manuscript was complete. The same was true of packing boxes when we moved. I packed a little each day, moving from room to room, and after a month, the movers arrived and the house was empty. The same was true for the construction of our new home. Each day we could see the evidence of the contractor’s work on our house. Within a year, we were staring at the same set of boxes, only this time we were unpacking them, again one room at a time.
While we wish we could snap our fingers or wave a magic wand to complete the tasks before us or solve our problems, life doesn’t work that way. So often we feel the pressure to “build Rome in a day,” but even God didn’t create the world in a day. He created the universe little by little. He could have created everything he wanted to in a moment, but he chose to create it in six days and rest on the seventh (Genesis 1). Good things take time and happen little by little.
God’s little-by-little approach applies not only to creation but also to how he often solves problems. Obviously, God has the power to fix anything instantly, but sometimes his answers come in small increments. In the book of Exodus, God told the Israelites he would destroy their enemies, but not all at once. He said, “I will not drive them out in a single year, because the land would become desolate and the wild animals too numerous for you. Little by little I will drive them out before you until you have increased enough to take possession of the land” (23:29-30).
Through these examples we can see not all of God’s solutions are instantaneous, but his purposeful delay does not justify our inaction. In the case of the Israelites, God’s plan required constant cooperation and persistence. Their success towards the Promised Land occurred step by step.
God could miraculously and instantaneously change our lives. But as demonstrated in Scripture, it is evident he chooses to help gradually, teaching us one lesson at a time to sanctify and sharpen us. We can trust God to make up the difference between where we want to be and where we are now. And, when we look back on it all, we will see a miraculous transformation that transpired little by little.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.rachaelkadams.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rachaeladamsauthor
- Facebook: htttps://www.facebook.com/rachaeladamsauthor
- Other: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-love-offering/id1448057435 https://open.spotify.com/show/0LEICaLbf7Xmckby5yXStV?si=GzofhkguRTS5qo2ayUrsdw&nd=1
Image Credits
Dani Ford Photography
