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A Little Introduction

Anna Boldra

Hello Friend!


I am so thankful we found each other. 

Before I share a little about myself, I wanted to make sure you have your drink of choice in your hand. Coffee, tea, Water, Mountain Dew...whatever you choose, get it and hurry back!


Cheers, you’re back! 


Oh my goodness...Where in the world do I start? Ha! I have no desire to word vomit all over you. So I have selected a couple experiences where comparison has tried to take a hold of my joy. There’s been so many challenges and triumphs in the 30 years of my life! My testimony started when I was born. I believe this is true for everyone. Every year on my birthday my father calls me and shares with me the story of my birth. 


He says to me, “Anna do you remember when you were born? You wiggled your head out and looked around the room. Gave the midwife and myself a huge smile and then decided it was okay to make your grand entrance! To this day your smile will light up a room.”   To this day when I’m feeling downhearted, I know a smile will change everything!


I love to smile! When I make the choice to smile instead of constantly frowning (you might be familiar with the term RBF- I however just learned what that term meant last year!) it changes my mood instantly. I challenge you to be conscious of the face you are making. Sometimes we do it without even knowing it. Keep track one day it’ll be eye-opening at the end of the day. It was for me!


I raise three world changers for a living. Aka stay-at-home mom. Reality, how many job descriptions can you think of when you hear the word, “Mom”? Ha! Way too many to list. In total honesty, my list may look different than your list. You know what? That’s okay. It’s because God created us differently. Your story is different than mine. We have different passions, gifts, and capacities.  Praise the lord we are different! That means I need you in my life to flourish. Just like it tells us in Proverbs 27:9, friendships refresh our souls and AWAKEN our hearts with JOY! 


“Sweet friendships refresh the soul and awaken our hearts with JOY, for good friends are like the anointing oil that yields the fragrant incense of God’s presence.”              Proverbs 27:9 TPT


I am a firm believer in community. Despite the hardship and inconvenience at times, it's all worth it. In community we get to practice being more like Jesus. We are designed to be a community. I have learned so much from my past, and it has shaped the person I am today. When I was younger it was my desire to be included. When I wasn’t included, I was deeply hurt. Slowly I built up a wall. I feared rejection. Fear of being hurt outweighed my fear of isolation. All of these fears built on top of each other until I was completely closed off, having no desire to be in community, being included, or making new friends. That’s a sad place to be in, I was stuck, I was blinded and could not see that I needed change! That change finally came after I gave birth to my third child in the NICU (neonatal intensive care unit).


I have three children. They were all born early. Between the three of them we have spent 28 weeks(196 days) in the NICU. I really struggled with comparison. Why can’t I have a normal birthing experience? Why do they have to stay in the NICU for so long? Why doesn’t anyone understand what we are going through? Why is this happening to me?


See? It’s so easy to compare my situation to your situation. Comparison stole so many moments of joy in the first few years when my kids were babies. It wasn’t until September 2018 that I made a choice in a NICU room that I would let go of comparison for good! There’s something freeing about surrendering an area in your life, and giving it to God. This was the year of abundant growth! 


I learned how to make friends, serve in the community where God plants me, lead with a holy confidence, find my calling, and step out in the purpose God has placed on my life. God is so faithful. No matter what season of life I was facing he equipped me for it. He gave me grace for the day to day. I found my strength in him when I was falling into the comparison trap. When I find myself slipping into comparison I start to remember all the times God was faithful. I would thank him for what he is doing in and through me!


Smile while sharing your story. Don't compare yourself to the people you see sharing their story.  God gave you this story for a reason. He has a beautiful plan and purpose for you if you are willing to step out in faith and say YES to Him faithfully.

 

Father, 

I thank you for my friend who found this blog today. Will you bless their day. Give them a holy confidence to step out in faith today. Help them see the path set before them, taking one step at a time. I am so thankful for the Joy you give us daily. May we choose to let go of toxic comparison. 

Amen!

Comments

  1. UnknownAugust 1, 2020 at 12:38 PM

    Wow Anna... all I can say right now is Wow! God is using you!! in an amazing way! You have your papa's ability to write, and God has passed that on to the next generation! I am so very proud of YOU!

    ReplyDelete

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