Fashion has always been a passion of mine. As a little girl I used to love watching my mother get ready when she had an event to attend. I can still remember her long black sequined gown that she typically wore at Christmas time. It even had a matching black shawl that would glisten every color of the rainbow when it hit the light just right. Like many girls, during those moments I could not wait to grow up and showcase my own personal style.
One quality my mother instilled in me at a very young age was how to be a savvy shopper. The finances were not always available for her to buy us children new clothes so she taught me some shopping hacks. Clearance rack, goodwill, and a great eye! If you ask the majority of my family, they will tell you that I am very good at finding incredibly discounted deals. It must run in the blood!
In April of this year I thought it would be a fun idea to create an Instagram account, sharing with others some great ways to shop affordably. I knew bloggers were creating an income for themselves writing about their own personal style so I decided to take my passion and the blog I had started at the beginning of this year and see if I could turn it into reality.
To say it has been fun is an understatement! I never really knew if anything would ever come of it, but I have been working very hard researching and reaching out to companies. So far I have collaborated with over 35 companies and just recently had Sketchers reach out to collaborate with me (there may have been some major squealing when that email came). I FINALLY have found something I love to do and am helping provide for my family because of it. Everything seemed to be going great but I couldn’t help but feel like there was something missing.
In these short six months, I have been continually praying to God if this is not what he wants me to be doing to make it clear, close the doors. Almost every time I prayed that, a new opportunity would arise. I knew the lord was blessing this for a reason, more than just financially for my family. Here I had a platform of thousands of followers, thousands of people who I could reach with my voice and I realized what component was missing, my faith. So that is what I slowly started to incorporate more in my posts.
I was talking with a sweet friend at church a while back, that everyone loves and respects and she was telling me, Brianna what you have is a gift. A gift I thought? I never in a million years would think fashion could be a gift of the Lord, but she explained to me that not everyone has an eye for style. The Lord puts people in your path at just the right moment to be an encouragement, and that little five minute conversation was just what I needed. After that talk I had a clear vision of what I wanted to do with my blog and what direction I wanted to take.
Last week I put a picture of a bracelet on my social media that a company sent me with the words, “So loved” that I had them print. I was able to share with all of my followers why that phrase had so much meaning. How “God so loved the world”. I was able to share John 3:16 with over 11,000 people. Typing that sentence right now honestly brings me to tears. It is not about me, or my clothes or what social media says, it is about bringing the knowledge of Jesus Christ to the world. The Lord has allowed me to play a small role in reaching out to others and sharing my faith in a way I never thought was possible. My posts have been read by women in countries such as Australia and Europe, places I most likely will never visit! Social Media can be a very discouraging and almost dangerous tool to use at times, but on the other hand it is an incredible way to reach people around the world. It has become a way for every Christian to be a social media missionary!
If my blog was to vanish and Instagram erased my account, sure it would be frustrating to see my hard work disappear but I would be okay with it. Taking a step back and looking at the grand picture, the life I live is to glorify God and not solely the things I have accomplished. I never wanted my blog to be about me, but something God could use THROUGH me to help encourage others. If the Lord has been speaking to your heart to start a blog or something similar, pray about it and if you feel the Lord leading you in that direction then I encourage you to act on it! I have been blessed in many ways by connecting with other believers across the country, and I can guarantee you will bless someone else along the way!