The Bite Size Podcast with Lorayne Michaels

Finding Your Calling Beyond Career

• Lorayne • Season 2 • Episode 29

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Ever felt the weight of bitterness and betrayal pulling you down? You're not alone. In today's episode of the Bite Size Podcast, I take you through my deeply personal journey of walking away from a 15-year medical career to find my true calling through faith. This episode is a sanctuary for anyone feeling lost or hurt, as I reveal my own struggles and the pivotal moments that led me back to faith. Through heartfelt reflections and honest storytelling, I emphasize the power of forgiveness and the importance of not attributing human failings to God. Despite facing financial hurdles and personal challenges, my commitment to uplifting other women through my business remains steadfast.

But that's not all. We delve into the concept of living a godly legacy, drawing inspiration from the stories of Queen Victoria and King Asa from Second Chronicles. How do our actions today shape the way we're remembered tomorrow? I discuss the profound impact of obedience to divine guidance and how it shapes our credibility and legacy. By tuning in, you'll discover the significance of finding faith and confidence in Jesus and the transformative power of trusting and obeying God's plan. Connect with me on Instagram and spread this message of divine purpose and encouragement to those who might need it. Your story matters, and so does your legacy.

Where you can find me:
My website: https://theboldbeginnings.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LorayneMichaels22
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/Lorayne_michaels/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@LorayneMichaels

Speaker 1:

Welcome to the Bite Size Podcast. I'm your host, lorraine Michaels, former EMT and nursing assistant, now business owner and wild entrepreneur. I walked away from over 15 years in medicine to pursue my passion and my God-given talents. Now I get the honor of helping other women discover their passions and purpose. If you're feeling stuck in life, unsure where to go or what to do, welcome. If you're exactly where you want to be great, you're welcome here too. If you have faced any kind of hardship or setback, you have found a safe place here. In other words, no matter who you are or what you've been through or what you're going through, this is the space for you. On the Bite Size Podcast, we'll discuss life, business and faith. There's something for everyone. So grab a cup of coffee and something to take notes with, because there will definitely be things you won't want to forget. Hello friends, welcome back to the Bite Size Podcast. I'm your host, lorraine Michaels, and I am so excited for this episode because I know Holy Spirit driven, because I had no plan or agenda and, in lieu of some events that have recently taken place, I just really got quiet and prayed, and this is what God really led me to and has shown me and I can't wait to share it with you. So, first off, I want to start off by encouraging you wherever you are at in your season of life right now. I just want to encourage you that the Lord hears you. God knows exactly what you're going through. Who has said what about you and who has stood up for you and who has not stood up for you? Who has stayed true to their word to you and who has not stayed true to their word to you? God sees you, god knows, and it will not go in vain. So, that being said, I hope that encourages you.

Speaker 1:

I too have been there in a season where I thought someone was going to be a person of their word, and they were not in many different situations friends, spouses, you name it family, you name it, family, you name it. I have been there, so I know, and I also felt alone and confused and hurt. And I have recently been in a situation where it was very confusing because it was a person of faith and another believer and it has happened to me before and then I got bitter before. So there's been a season where I got bitter before and I said those Christians, and I shook my fist and I don't want to be like those Christians and this is why I don't like church and God and religion and yada, yada, yada.

Speaker 1:

So I have been in a season where I got bitter and I turned away from the Lord and other Christians and I did my own thing and I thought I mean this is in my testimony and I thought to myself I'm a good person, I am honest, I am loving, I am kind, I am all these things that quote unquote Christians say they are and the Christians in my life were not. So therefore, I said the heck with you. I probably said something else the heck with you. I'm going to be a good person without God. I'm going to be a good person without the label of being a Christian.

Speaker 1:

And I went about my life and I made a lot of poor decisions, granted like I still am all of those things kind, honest, loving, empathetic. I am still all of those things. That is who I am, that is who God made me. It doesn't matter what label is attached to me, because I don't accept the labels of this world. I have since, you know, been through those things and God has called me back and I have a deeper, much more rich relationship with Christ and I am so thankful for that. So I also want to kind of pause here and let you know.

Speaker 1:

If you are feeling those things, that is okay and I validate your feelings, but don't turn from God, because God has been there too and it's not God that is doing that. Maybe if you want to say that he is allowing it, yes, but you have to understand that we as humans here on earth have free will and it's not God that's doing it to you, it is humans, it is human nature and we are sinful and that is so unfortunate. But on this side of heaven we are sinful. So you can't fault or blame God. Of course he doesn't want that. Of course he doesn't want you hurt. Of course he doesn't want you abandoned, abused, neglected, all of those mean and hurtful ugly things. Of course God doesn't want that. But we are on earth and, unfortunately, because of the fall and because of humans, and that's sin and that's the nature of sin and we live in the flesh right. So be encouraged of that is that it's not God and yes, he is allowing it, but it's not in vain and there is a reason for it, and he wants you to find freedom and love and forgiveness.

Speaker 1:

So I am in a very tough situation right now and I'm going to be completely transparent with you. I don't do this my business, speaking, coaching the podcast. I don't do it because I am gaining anything from it. I am not out here making oodles of money and I am a six, seven, eight, nine figure entrepreneur. That is not where I'm at right now. Will it ever happen? I don't know. I am just being obedient. And I know that God has called me to speak, to love, encourage and to teach when I can, where I can, and to share my story and to encourage other women who have been where I have been or who are currently where I used to be. I know that I am here to encourage and teach and cheer on, and so, again, I don't do this for anything, and the reason why I'm saying that is because I am not making money in my business right now. To be completely transparent with you, it is costing me money and I am having to find other ways to generate income.

Speaker 1:

And if that's working in a hospital, that's working in a hospital. If it's helping my husband with his business, it's helping my husband in his business. If it means selling my truck that I absolutely have dreamed of and loved and selling it and getting a different car with a lower car payment and lower insurance, then I do it. I did it and that was very hard for me. If that means quitting a job, going back to a job, doing a job that I don't necessarily want to do, I do it. If it means stopping certain subscriptions, if it means stopping certain lifestyles hair nails, facials, whatever those extras are, if God is calling me to stop those things because I am a steward of the money God is giving me, then I have to stop it, and so I am not making money in my business right now, and so that might mean that I stop all things I don't know.

Speaker 1:

And so I came before the Lord and I wanted to record a podcast, and usually before I do, I pray about it and I just get alone and quiet with God and really ask him what is it that I need to talk about today? What is it that someone needs to hear today? And a lot of times it's God speaking to me and I'm like, oh, that's a good word and that is for me, and sometimes I don't talk about it and it's for me, and sometimes I'm like, okay, that was for me, yes, but I think someone else needs to hear this too, because you know, someone else might be going through a tough season and they need this encouragement. And so today I came before God and I'm like I need to know whether or not to stop paying for things, certain things in my business, and just stop it altogether. And I feel that that's what God is calling me to do, and that means stopping the podcast, and that means stopping my subscription for my website, and so I would just continue my business, speaking, coaching, all the things I would still be doing, but not paying for anything. So, either free, utilizing free platforms, or just word of mouth I don't know.

Speaker 1:

I have no idea what this looks like, but anyways, I opened up my Bible and I read something in Second Chronicles, and it doesn't have to do with business, but it has to do with conducting your life in a way of reflecting God and being obedient to God, no matter what the world is doing. And something that I read, I absolutely loved, has to do with legacy, and I've talked about this before. But we are not going to live forever, we're not going to be on earth forever and we're going to go to heaven eventually if you are a believer and if you are saved. And I've always lived my life this way of. I don't live for the world and I don't live for today. But how I want to be remembered and I don't care if I'm rich, poor, it doesn't matter. I want to be remembered by how I treated others. Was I, you know, a loving, kind person, in spite of how people treat me? How do I treat others when they're ugly to me, when they don't follow through with what they say they're going to do or how they are? How am I going to be remembered? And that's how I conduct my life.

Speaker 1:

And so in this passage it was talking about well, the story was talking about Queen Victoria and how she lived her life and that she was a good and godly woman, and that's just how she conducted. Her life was as God would want her to. And in here it said the day will come when our obituaries will be written to. And in here it said the day will come when our obituaries will be written. Others will review our lives and summarize what they saw in a few short words. We will have left our mark and it will be too late to change it.

Speaker 1:

The challenge now is to live so as to be remembered as a good and godly woman, and that's what I strive to do to be a good and godly woman and to reflect Christ as he would want me to reflect him. And that's a couple of things I want to leave you with. What kind of legacy are you leaving for those around you? And think about when your time is here and your number is called and you go home to be with the Lord and there's going to be people at your funeral and think about one or two of those people that are going to be there at your funeral. What do you want them to remember about you? What do you want them to say about you at your funeral?

Speaker 1:

And the scripture that it referenced was 2 Chronicles 14, 1 through 15, and it talks about King Asa and how he was a good and godly man and he did everything that he could that was honoring to God. And it talked about how he just followed God's word and he did things that people didn't understand. But God was a faithful God and he protected the city and he protected King Asa. It was King Ajand. It was just so encouraging to me that it doesn't matter what the world is saying about me. It doesn't matter what people are saying about me, as long as I am living faithfully and as long as I am following what the Lord is leading me to and what he is instructing me to do. And if he is instructing me to shut it all down, then I'm going to do it.

Speaker 1:

And I know it might seem crazy and some people will be like no, lorraine, you know you have to, you have to continue to do it, you have to push, you have to persevere. You have to get in front of people and pitch yourself to people and and hunt down those speaking opportunities and ask for this and do that. And and I just have to stop and be quiet and be still before the Lord and really ask God like what is it you want me to do? Where do you want me to go? Who do you want me to talk to? And I really feel convicted about spending money on something that there is no return.

Speaker 1:

And here's the struggle, in complete transparency and vulnerability, I struggle with paying for my website, paying for subscriptions for my podcast or for Canva or all the things that help run this business, and I am not making income from it. And my whole reason why I haven't stopped was I know God has called me to this. I know God has called me to speaking and coaching and now maybe writing a book. And my whole reason is I can't stop. I can't stop the subscriptions because what if? What if I meet someone and they hear my podcast? Or I meet someone and they hear what I do and they want to look me up and they look me up and they find my website and they get information and they read my copy, my content, and they read all this from my website and they listen to my podcast. What if I stop paying for it and it's not there? I have no credibility. I have nothing to show. I have no testimonies to show because I stopped paying for it and it's no longer there and it's gone.

Speaker 1:

And today, before I recorded, I was at an event and I was talking to someone and immediately I just heard the Lord say you don't need a website for credibility. You don't need your podcast to show how good you are or who you've had on. You don't need that. I make you credible. I show other people your heart, your talent. I'm the one that's going to show you. I'm the one that's going to open the door. I'm the one that's going to lead you and connect you with who you need to be connected to and with. It's not what you do, lorraine. It's not your website, it's not your podcast, it's not all these things that you are trying to do to show who you are to showcase. You don't need that. It's me, I'm going to do that for you.

Speaker 1:

So I say that, and I don't know how long this podcast will be up.

Speaker 1:

I don't know who's going to hear it.

Speaker 1:

I don't know. I don't know any of these things, but what I do know is my faith is in Jesus, my confidence is in Jesus and my confidence is in what he's telling me to do and being obedient, and so that's what I'm going to do. So, friend, I hope this encourages you, I hope this reaches you wherever you are, and just remember that King was faithful and a faithful servant of Jesus, and he did what the Lord told him to do, and the Lord showed up immeasurably, abundantly, beyond what he thought was possible. And I know that's true for you, wherever you are, whatever season you're going through, god is faithful and if you get still and quiet. He'll speak to you and he'll show you, he'll bring you to the right people. He'll open doors, he'll close doors, and sometimes those doors that he brings you to don't make sense, because, believe me, friend, it doesn't make sense to me either, stopping all of this. But I'm faithful and I know God will bless it in one way or another.

Speaker 1:

So that's what I got, and I pray that you have an amazing day. I pray that this message blesses you. I pray that you are blessed beyond what you can imagine. You can always find me on Instagram, because that platform, for now, is free and I'm there, and you can find me at Lorraine underscore Michaels. If this episode has blessed you in any way, reach out to me, let me know. I'd love to connect with you and if there's someone that you know that needs to hear it, send it to them. So just remember, friend, you were divinely created for a divine purpose and your story matters, and you matter Until next time, wherever that may be.