I've come to the conclusion that we all sow seeds of leadership every single day, whether we envision ourselves as leaders or not. Every single decision we make in a day, whether nonchalant or heartfelt, has the power to mold our very character and exert an impact on those surrounding us. Those people include not only friends and family, but our co-workers, the cashier at Walmart, the nurse at the doctor’s office, the telemarketer that calls at an annoying time, the driver who cuts in front of you, and anyone else God puts in your pathway every day.

As we come into contact with others, let alone pour our lives into others, we find ourselves being influential. This is how we walk in leadership. Depending on what's in our hearts, we either equip people, or we strip people. 

One field I love to sow into is my twin daughters’ lives. I am amazed at what my impressionable little girls soak up from spending time with me -- my attitudes, my phrases, my mannerisms, my conduct, and my faith. When they were two-years old, I was blessed to receive a thank-you letter from their daycare provider who pointed out that she had never seen such working empathy in such young children. As their mommy I consider myself benevolent in various ways, and it delighted my heart that my little darlings were emulating such kindheartedness with their playmates. Nonetheless, I am daily humbled and reminded all too well of other not-so-wonderful mommyisms that my girls daily display.

As a leader-in-training, I cannot afford to discount the tremendous blessing of life. In the trenches of my life I have discovered my leadership style. Sometimes it took several years before I saw the “good fruit” come forth from certain hardships, but God was faithful to reap a harvest of a more resilient faith and a more patient and sensitive heart towards others who have similarly struggled. I now lead or sow out of the “good fruits” reaped from struggle and God’s delivering power in my life.

Leaders create leaders, so I am thankful for my mentors who have sown their very lives into mine by listening, praying, counseling, and admonishing me to be a strong woman full of God’s purposes. Their examples of God's love in my life have equipped me to be a wise farmer, to pour good seed into God’s people around me.

Who have been the leaders that have walked through your life? I encourage you today to pause in the chaos of your schedule and truly take time to thank God for the goodness you have received through these leaders. Contemplate and rejoice in what they have sown into your life and the changes in your heart and thinking that have been the outcome.

Sheila Heiser is a writer who loves to spur women on to believe what God says about them, using examples from her life as a woman who married again in her 40’s, completed nursing school in her 40’s and had twin daughters in her 40’s.  She believes that age should never hold us back from doing what God is calling us to do. Read more posts by Sheila.