We were lucky to catch up with Sadra Madonna Lindsay recently and have shared our conversation below.
Sadra Madonna , we’re thrilled to have you sharing your thoughts and lessons with our community. So, for folks who are at a stage in their life or career where they are trying to be more resilient, can you share where you get your resilience from?
Ever since childhood, I came to the realization that God equipped me with resilience. I was able to bounce back quickly no matter the situation. I learned to make the best use of the worst situations, somehow learning how to pull what could be useful and apply the use to the current state of my affairs. For example, as a child I went to school when it was possible. So, I was frequently absent (times were hard and it was many of us). There was obviously a challenge and I was bound to miss things. However, rather than using this as an excuse to fail or to do poorly, it became an opportunity to, read widely and to make sure that I made up for whatever I missed. It became the thing where some of my classmates thought I stayed home to study so that I could get better grades. Those who were my true friends knew better than this.
I can safely say that God equipped me with His resilience, because He knew from the get go, that I was going to need it, in order to accomplish tasks He had Himself assigned unto my name for His glory. Coming from where I came from, it couldn’t be that I relied on the “ease of growth”. Nothing grows easily and some things must grow even in the harshest environments and still flourish. Those who don’t grow through harsh circumstances die along the way. They loose their zeal and desire to come forth. So, I am grateful for the grace to emerge. It’s not mine, its entirely the Lord’s.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
I am Sadra Madonna Lindsay, named by my father and the first of 14 siblings. My life has been a true testament of God’s Goodness and His grace. I am grateful for how far He has lead me and I look forward to where He will further take me. I wear a few hats I am a Minister of the Gospel , My husband Pastor Sherwayen Lindsay and I, serve in Ministry as Leaders of one of the churches within the Assemblies of the First Born Church International in Jamaica. I am an award winning Author of to ‘This Day Let Me Write’ (An Inspired Poetic Memoir). I am grateful to be able to spread the gospel even further as an award winning Gospel Recording Artist. I am an Entrepreneur (Founder of Garden Gold Cosmetics) a manufacturing company specializing in haircare and skincare products.
As a Multifaceted individual stewarding different areas, it can be daunting to balance all that has been given me to do So, I am grateful for the grace to do these things and to do them well. I hold a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Literatures in English and Philosophy and a Bachelor of Laws Degree, as well as a Diploma in Administration, a Certificate in Entrepreneurship and a Certificate in Theology. I am a mother to two wonderful boys, Micah and Joshua. They teach me how to dial things down and push them up a notch at the right time. I am grateful for the opportunity I have in parenting them. Over the years as I learned to come fully into my own as a Christian woman in the 21st century, I have learned the art of working with whatever opportunity I have.
I grew up in the parish of Clarendon between the communities of Coxswain, Turners, Crofts Hill and May Pen. My siblings and I are closely knit. We grew up with the blessing of having both parents in our home. It was tough, as anyone could imagine with a family of 16 persons but it never made our lives any less a blessing. Our parents gave us the gift of fostering well, our talents and gifts. Whatever we were good at, they made sure to push us in that direction. Gifted in the arts, we had the opportunity of taking part in various competitions and festivals. All of these experiences helped not just me but my other siblings to hone our skills, building on our confidence and making us more rounded individuals and more secure in our various roles as professionals, wives, husbands and all-around, better human beings.
The thing that drives me most is fulfilling God’s purpose for my life. One of the purposes that I believe I have been given is to charter a path of manifesting generational legacy. What is that legacy some might ask? It is a legacy where wealth is not just financial but holistic; where we engender a sense of goodness, hope and faith in the areas where each member of an entire generation is gifted. My passion is to get people to understand who they are and what they carry beyond what they can see with their natural eyes. Against this backdrop I am grateful and proud to present my second and third publications that will be made available worldwide on December 7, 2024. The new books are titled:
To This Day Let Me Write, The Biblically Guided Planner (Redeeming The Times, Planning Strategically For the Days Ahead)
To This Day Let Me Write, The Guided Journal (Life, Love, Gratitude and Growing in Grace: A Practical Guide For Writing Your Days Safely in the Abiding Presence of the Lord)
The Biblically Guided Planner is an amazing resource not just for Christians but for anyone desiring wholesome planning, guided by the principles of the Bible. With detailed guidance on how to be strategic in the 21st century with all that bombards the mind. You will be amazed at how truly detailed scripture is on putting things together for future. In order for us to make meaningful contributions in whichever area we are called to function, it becomes necessary to put things in place. As a Christian Creative and Entrepreneur, I have come to realize the great significance in not just planning for my future but, in putting God at the center of this planning. With this planner, I introduce you to a way of writing purposefully to your days, enveloped by God’s divine Guide.
The Guided Journal, is where you get the opportunity of pulling from your own soul as you get even closer to our Creator. As the title says, To This Day Let Me Write, (Life, Love, Gratitude and Growing in Grace: A Practical Guide For Writing Your Days Safely in the Abiding Presence of the Lord), readers get the opportunity through this guided journal, to get to know the Spirit of the Lord a little better. They get the chance to understand His directive to write. As they build on what is flowing from their own spirit, they are guided that for every vision and dream, or for every hope, desire or fear written within the pages; God has a word of correction, a word to edify, a word to exhort and to comfort.
As I move into a new phase of my life, wherein my husband and I celebrate on November 15, 2024 or tenth anniversary, I can only attribute praise and gratitude to God for how well He has allowed us through our various shortcomings and challenges to steward our marriage over the last ten years. I am truly grateful, and I look forward to another 10 very fruitful years.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
One of the most significant lessons I have learned over my life is that ‘it takes time’. Young people like myself like to move fast. One of the burdens of this kind of attitude is that sometimes you get hopeless when you feel like you are just not going fast enough or that things are just taking too long for your liking. My first business taught me that no matter where you happen to start on the journey, whether you’re a creative, a professional or an entrepreneur, time is not your enemy, it is by contrast, your friend.
You will need it to learn, to understand, to cope and to build. There is nothing of relevance in life that will teach you ‘more’ than time will. So take your time, trust the process of your own growth and purpose. As a child we often hear the saying “the world naw run weh” or “tek time wit di worl and mek it serve yuh long” These sayings mean 1. The world will not run away from you, in quite a literal sense it is right there for you to take hold of, to grasp and to make the absolute best of. 2. Take time with the world and it will serve you long; sometimes we feel like the world is running away from us and in the process of trying to keep up with it, we hurt ourselves. So take time with the world, it is not the world that will last you longer it is you who will last longer in the world.
Secondly, be grateful, like time, gratitude is your friend. It will help you to maneuver the toughest of seasons. Always remember that the verse in 1st Thessalonians 5:18 “In all things give thanks because this is the will of God for you”, is not just in the Bible because it sounds good, it is by contrast there to help you to remain calm, even when you believe there is very little to be thankful for. With time, and gratitude for every season of your own journey, you will look back and find peace for every turn, the good and the bad. None of your experience is wasted. It is by contrast life well lived, adding to the tapestry of what will become lessons that you will share with those who come after you.
Finally, and perhaps one that has taken me the longest to learn and I’m still sitting at the feet of Jesus on this one; “(BE ANXIOUS FOR NOTHING) but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” Phil. 4:6-7. We live in a dispensation where anxiety is at an all time high. With everything flooding our eyes and then our heart and soul its easy to be anxious. Its easy to think that you are not doing well enough, going fast enough, not hustling enough. Sometimes we are even lead to think that we didn’t suffer enough and we don’t have life hard enough. But guess what, even as you read these few lines, breathe… I ask you, cast your cares upon the Lord because He cares for you. He understands that sometimes you may get anxious but don’t stay there. Pick yourself up, bring it to God, leave it there and trust Him in every season.
How can folks who want to work with you connect?
At this stage of my own development and in helping others to also develop, I am seeking Kingdom minded individuals with a drive and a thrust to shift a generation for God. So, if you are into media and your drive to get the word out there so that we can quite literally help to save this generation, I would love to partner with you in getting these amazing Christian resources out in the world to as many countries and locations as may be humanly possible in this season. If you are a Kingdom financier who wants to invest in kingdom building by making available resources to persons who wouldn’t readily be able to purchase, I am seeking to partner with you. If you plan speaking engagements for teenagers, young adults and those persons who are somehow at risk in toxic situations, or for individuals who just want to grow or are seeking a closer relationship with the Lord, I am seeking to partner with you.
Pulling back this generation to a place of divine sanity begins with us, one Kingdom Writer, one Kingdom Speaker, one Kingdom Media Personality, one Mind geared towards a Christ-Centered World where morality is not a thing of the past. Let’s endeavor together to rebuild a world where our children are not forced to accept the ungodly and the unholy under the guise of “new normal”, “human rights” and a “woke” mentality. In this globalized earthen space its easy to have moral rights stripped away in one shape or another. But, one at a time, the change begins with us. So if that’s where your heart is, if this is you, please send me an email at sadramadonnalindsay@gmail.com. There is much work to be done. The journey is long, but every step in this direction, is a step towards a world where God is pleased and people are saved.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sadramadonna/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SadraMadonna/
- Twitter: https://x.com/i/flow/login?redirect_after_login=%2Fsadramadonna
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHIYHpsBUZvyYmL2W2Ds3Tw
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/7bp4mYs867113O4MNjDy7u
https://music.apple.com/gb/artist/sadra-madonna-lindsay/1017438133
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
