Happy Thursday purpose peeps! I want to thank everyone for sharing last week’s feature on Makida Seward. I love to see people pass along messages of encouragement and purpose because you never know who will benefit from them.
This week I’m featuring Amanda Ross, I had the pleasure of meeting Amanda through RESET Camp earlier this summer and let me tell you, she was speaking so much truth in this interview that I had to highlight my favorite quotes.
Amanda Ross is the 25 year old CEO of hellomsross.com and the founder of The Girl Behind the Selfie movement where women are encouraged to escape perfection and share their truth.. Hailing from Columbus, GA. She received her Public Relations degree from Georgia Southern University and is currently pursuing her Master’s Degree in Pastoral Counseling with a focus on Life Coaching at Liberty University.
BGP: What does it mean to you to be a black girl with purpose?
Amanda: I think it means being you. I feel like a lot of times when people think about their purpose they feel like “I need to find this thing.” When God designed you He gave you the elements to live out your purpose. It just takes that moment of awareness. Something can be sitting right by me and be mine but if I don’t take possession of it, is it really mine? Probably not.
Living in that. Owning it. Not just “I draw” but “I draw. This is why I’m here.” Understanding what you do has value, you are needed.
BGP: When did you feel like you realized your purpose?
Amanda: During my junior year of college. I had this “weird” thought process. I grew up in church but when I went to college my sophomore year I went to this event and my campus pastor said I see something in you. I want you to start a campus ministry and I thought “what??” It all started out as a Bible study at my house.
Over time I realized “No, I’m not background girl.” God is calling me to the front lines. It took someone seeing it in me first and then me spending time with God to be able to accept the enlightenment. Working on the things in my heart that said I’m not worthy. To walk effectively in your purpose, you have to know, it’s not you doing it, it’s the Holy Spirit doing it through you.
To walk effectively in your purpose, you have to know, it’s not you doing it, it’s the Holy Spirit doing it through you.
I remember thinking “Wait God, you can do dope stuff through me? What is life? Yes, Jesus!”
That was the first time I understood I had a God that wanted a relationship with me. I felt so amazed that He loved me that I was living as someone indebted to His love for me. We started a ministry called IMPACT Campus Ministry and I was servant girl. How can I help you? How can I serve you?
BGP: How would you define your purpose?
Amanda: My purpose is to be a midwife – God has already put something in you. I’m just the one in the middle encouraging to get it out and once you get it out hoping you can take care of it. I’m your encourager, I’m your pusher. Yea it hurts, that’s cute, but you’ve still got to get it out.
Whether it be business women or hurting women who need to share their stories so others don’t think they’re crazy or are the only ones going through it.
BGP: What is the hardest part about walking in your purpose?
Amanda: The hardest part is understanding just because you’re walking in your purpose doesn’t mean you’re an example of perfection or someone who has arrived. Even though people get the fruit of it, it’s helping you.
I got to a point where I had to tell myself “Yes, I am a leader. Yes, I’m supposed to help women. But, if I have a hard week that’s okay. I don’t have to be perfect.” My mistakes and my shortcomings do not keep God from using me.
“My mistakes and my shortcomings do not keep God from using me.”
Our testimony is our message. We struggle in the imperfections of ourselves but that’s how we connect to them. Constantly remembering my experience is my blessing. God is sovereign so despite my mess ups and my mistakes, He’s still going to do His work through me. I’m just a vessel.
BGP: What would you say to someone who doesn’t know where to start to find their purpose?
Amanda: I would tell them to make a list of of the things they do well and take it to God in prayer. I would also encourage them to start listening to their life. Pay attention to what’s going on around you. What do people come to you for? What do you find yourself constantly doing? What are some things you’re so passionate about that you would do them without being paid?
Your purpose doesn’t start at the point of enlightenment. It’s always been in you and you always use them. Listen to your life. Embrace that you don’t know where to start and don’t let that stop you. God will give you the instruction and direction and the right timing. When I quit my job, I knew that was my first step. Purpose and comfort kept having a fight and I was tired of it. That was December 31, 2015.
My second step was resting from that season and working a job that I hated. I started writing. You will never have the whole blueprint because you’re following Christ. Your purpose should always be the spirit of God. It should be spirit led. I didn’t know I was going to do The Girl Behind the Selfie when I quit my job. It took some planning but it was about going where God tells you to go. That’s hard for me because I’m a planner and I like all the details. But I’m learning to take the step – I don’t know where to go but Jesus you better be with me because you told me to move.
BGP: Is there anything else you would like to add?
Amanda: I think it’s important for girls to ask themselves “How can you be you without apology?” I don’t need a duplicate and you don’t need a duplicate. When I see the value in me, I can’t be jealous of you because I know why I’m valuable.
“When I see the value in me, I can’t be jealous of you because I know why I’m valuable.”
Another note is that it’s one thing to build but it’s another thing to maintain. You never “arrive.” You have to continue to keep pushing. There’s always work to be done. And it may change. A few years from now God may say “Put The Girl Behind the Selfie down and do something else.”
Make sure what you’re doing is not about what the people are asking you. It’s about what God’s asking of you. It’s important to listen to God first and seek God first. You can easily be driven by the voices and the feedback. If I’m rocking with [people] and I run dry, [they] all will move to the next thing but my Father will continue to fuel me if I’m following Him.
Have a suggested feature? Email me at bried@blackgirlswithpurpose.org. See you next week!