When I started Mom Leaves A Legacy back in March, I thought I was building a finance blog.
I had ideas.
I had plans.
I had structure.
What I didn’t have… was growth.
It didn’t take off the way I expected. It didn’t move quickly. It didn’t feel easy. And if I’m honest, there were days I thought:
If God wanted this, it wouldn’t be this hard.
It was hard to stay consistent.
Hard to come up with topics.
Hard to write vulnerably.
Hard to post publicly.
Hard to keep showing up when the results felt small.
And then life happened.
The tone of my writing shifted. What started as a financial strategy slowly became something else. My posts became less about numbers and more about identity. Less about spreadsheets and more about surrender. I started writing to minister to myself — to process grief, fear, anxiety, and pressure.
Somewhere in the middle of my frustration, I realized something:
I thought I was building a platform, but truthfully, God was building me.
Dream First. Development Second.
Joseph had a dream long before he had influence.
God showed him leadership and impact. But Joseph didn’t go from dream to throne. He went from dream to betrayal. From betrayal to slavery. From slavery to prison.
Thirteen years of development before one day of visible promotion.
Prison didn’t cancel Joseph’s calling. It calibrated it.
In the hidden place, God built:
- Integrity.
- Administrative skill.
- Emotional maturity.
- Dependence.
Before Joseph ever stepped into leadership.
And I’ve started to see that pattern in my own life.
Before God grows the thing, He grows the person stewarding it.
What Pressure Reveals
If I’m honest about this season, pressure hasn’t always brought out the best in me.
When growth felt slow, comparison crept in.
When writing felt vulnerable, insecurity surfaced.
When consistency felt hard, quitting felt easier.
Under pressure, I’ve felt anxiety. Frustration. The urge to measure my calling by someone else’s timeline, but pressure doesn’t create what’s inside of us.
It reveals it.
When life squeezes you, what spills out?
Because what spills out under pressure is usually what has been quietly taking root.
If anxiety rises quickly, that’s not shame — it’s information.
If comparison surfaces easily, that’s not failure — it’s exposure.
If quitting feels natural, that’s not weakness — it’s a signal.
Exposure is not condemnation. It is an invitation.
Invitation to ask:
- What am I rooted in?
- Am I anchored in calling or in outcomes?
- Do I trust God’s timing — or just my own expectations?
Tests expose our roots, and that can feel uncomfortable.
But deep roots are not formed in comfort. They are formed in resistance.
If we want to build a legacy that endures, we cannot ignore what pressure reveals. We have to let it refine us.
Patience Is Not Passive
We often think patience means sitting back and waiting for life to change.
Biblical patience is different.
James 1 tells us that the testing of our faith produces steadfastness — a perseverance that matures us and makes us spiritually complete.
James 1:2-4 says, “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”
Testing is not punishment. It is production.
Romans 5 builds on that truth: suffering produces endurance, endurance produces character, and character produces hope.
Romans 5:3-5 says, “Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.”
Notice what the progression produces.
Not platform. Not applause. Not immediate results.
Character.
If God gave us influence without endurance, we would crumble under its weight.
God is far more concerned with the formation of your character than the speed of your calling. And character built in hidden seasons produces a hope that isn’t fragile — it’s anchored.
Patience is active.
It looks like:
- Writing again.
- Praying again.
- Showing up again.
- Choosing obedience when emotions fluctuate.
- Studying Scripture even when it isn’t perfectly consistent.
And I’ll say this clearly: I am not perfectly consistent in my Bible study right now.
There are nights I’m too tired to stay awake. There are mornings I don’t rise early enough. There are days when my time with God is shorter than I’d like.
But growth doesn’t require perfection. It requires persistence.
The question is not whether you feel strong in the process.
The question is whether you will remain faithful in it.
God is not asking for flawless performance. He is asking for faithful return.
Patience isn’t passive.
It’s disciplined trust.
The Middle Is Where Most People Quit
Joseph’s story didn’t stall in prison. It strengthened.
And I’ve realized something in my own process with MLAL:
The slow season is not a sign that I should quit. It’s a sign that I’m being built.
Maybe God grows the roots before He extends the branches. Maybe He deepens character before He increases influence. Maybe He teaches endurance before He entrusts impact.
Legacy isn’t built when everything works.
It’s built when you remain faithful, while it doesn’t.
The Refining Truth
Hard does not mean wrong.
Hidden does not mean forgotten.
Slow does not mean stagnant.
Testing does not mean rejection.
It may mean preparation.
Joseph received the dream as a teenager. But before he ever stood in a palace, he stood in a prison.
Before he led a nation, he learned to serve faithfully in obscurity.
Before he carried influence, he carried responsibility in hidden places.
The prison was not a detour. It was development.
And what if that is true for us, too?
What if the slow season is not a sign to quit — but a sign that God is strengthening what must hold the weight of what’s coming?
Maybe God grows the roots before He extends the branches.
Maybe He deepens character before He increases influence.
Maybe He strengthens endurance before He entrusts reach.
Joseph’s legacy wasn’t built when his circumstances improved. It was built when his character did.
Legacy isn’t built by strong moms. It’s built by rooted ones.
Rooted in truth when comparison rises.
Rooted in obedience when results are slow.
Rooted in trust when the process feels longer than expected.
Strength can crumble under pressure. Roots hold.
And if we are honest, most of us don’t need a bigger platform. We need deeper formation.
Let Him build you before He raises you.
Reflection Questions
- Where am I trying to rush the process?
- What might God be forming in me through this test?
- Am I building for applause or eternity?
Closing Prayer
Lord, teach me patience in the process. Not passive waiting, but active trust. Refine my heart before You raise my platform. Deepen my roots before You extend my reach. When anxiety rises, anchor me. When comparison whispers, steady me. When quitting feels easier, strengthen me. Build endurance in me. Build obedience in me. Build faithfulness in me. Even when I cannot see what You are building, help me trust that You are building something in me and through me. Make my legacy one of rooted endurance, not rushed ambition. In Jesus’ name, amen.
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