Daughter of Grace
Before I start the story of the Daughters of Grace Collection, I need to give you a little back story on my family. You need to know who I am as a person and an artist. You will discover much about me as I weave my struggles and triumphs through each collection.
I am one of 6 girls my mother gave birth to. My sister Marie was the oldest, then me, Jauhnea, Emelia, Ruth, and Rebecca. I was originally not the oldest daughter. The eldest was my sister Marie who was killed when I was just seven moving me up by default to the oldest girl. I will share more about the story of Marie at a later time. Growing up, I had a lot of responsibilities caring for my sisters. We had lost our father right before my sister. My mother worked, and it was my job to take care of them, which I did until we all were grown with our own families.
Shortly after the passing of my mother, my sister Jauhnea teased me about being the matriarch of the family. Jauhnea’s words bounced around in my head. How could this be? The weight and the responsibility of what this truly meant were astounding. It’s not a role I wanted to hold but was now thrust into. It was a role I did not take lightly either. The Daughters of Grace Collection developed out of a desire to live and walk in a way that was honorable and fitting for the matriarch of our family. Who better to learn from than the women of the bible? Throughout the Bible, we are introduced to a variety of women who had a significant impact on the story of redemption found in the Bible.
However, the vision for the Daughters of Grace collections would come in God’s timing, not mine. It would not come together until a year and a half ago when I lost my husband, Brett, to cancer. It was in the last year and a half that I discovered that my focus on business had taken another turn. I still love creating my jewelry, but I realized my brand was more than selling beautiful creations. I felt the Lord telling me that my brand, my story, and the things I have gone through could help others walking in similar situations. Because of this, my brand has transitioned into a ministry God has called me to. Sometimes we are called but not activated into our calling until we have gone through the things that make us what we are. It is our struggles and trials that make us who we are. It's our dependence on
God's grace and strength we gain from depending on Him. Those trials can make or break us, but it's our choice. God gives us a choice in everything.
I am not a bible scholar nor an ordained minister, but I feel led by the Holy Spirit to include a story that the Lord has put on my heart to share. I have been so blessed through this journey God has had me on, and I pray that as I share my love for the Lord and the lessons, He has been teaching me in this journey, you, too, will be blessed.
I had studied some of the women of the bible, but when God gave me the desire to look at the woman of the Bible, to study them, to learn from them, some of the things that I started to realize was that he is for us. He is our Redeemer, our Refuge, our Healer, our Father, our Protector, our Rock, our Foundation. He is faithful and our one True King. I thank God for this study because this collection idea became so much more. It caused me to dig deep into my soul and search for the truth about these women. To examine the areas in my own life and to move forward in my relationship with my Father into a more meaningful and personal one. It has been through this study that I wrestled with my own flesh in areas in my life that God revealed and is revealing to me that needed to be pruned or yanked out. To be honest, some areas had been neglected and left unseen or, should I say, ignored for far too long that it was hard to pull out. The process of becoming more Christ-like is not always easy but so worth it.
As I study these women of grace and see so many similarities and differences in their life, I also marvel at the unimaginable love our Father has for us. In these stories, we don’t see perfection. Some of these stories will show that these women often made mistakes and were far from perfect, but God only saw how redeemable they were. Their choices sometimes came from sources of being unloved, unwanted, jealousy, pride, and unbelief. Some of these women are great models of the strength, wisdom, and enduring love we all should strive for.
Their stories show us a loving God, a gracious God; they show us a God that hears our plights and the giver of incredible strength if we make a choice to believe and trust Him in all things.
I find comfort in that because I have felt like many of these women in my life. It is in our human nature to have these characteristics, but we can overcome them because we have the gift of the ultimate overcomer. We can learn to walk in freedom from our mistakes and past hurts and have them washed clean by Jesus. We can put our daily armor on and fight for authority over our lives and those of others.
I would be remiss in not saying this also. It is an active choice to overcome. Don’t be fooled to stay the victim. God wants us to release our deepest hurts to Him and receive healing He can only give. We have to turn away from sin and turn away from things this world tells us that is important. We have to put God first and trust in Him for all things. If we are to live a life of purpose and fulfillment, this is the only way.
“I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6
Every single hero in the Bible, man and woman, was saved by faith in Christ. It was because each of them believed in God and obeyed His call.
We cannot live like our old selves if we are to move forward into our Kingdom purpose.
I pray that you will be blessed as I pour out my vulnerability in these lessons from God. It is through these stories that I hope to encourage, inspire and teach you of your own worth and identity in Christ because you, my friend, are a daughter of grace too, completely loved just as you are by an amazing Father, Friend, and Protector.
As I prayed about this collection and the decision of which woman to start the collection with, I kept coming to Eve. I knew it was meant to be launched on Mother's Day. Eve is a mother to us all, and she is the first woman, the first daughter, so it was only fitting that she would be the first of the Daughters of Grace.
Not only is Eve the mother of all, but her lineage also leads us to Jesus. Eve is the mother of all the women in the Bible that God used in powerful ways. These women stand out and teach us a great deal. When women were not regarded with much worth or standing, Jesus showed us time and time that we have great value. But Eve was first....read more
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