Friends,
There was a time I thought shrinking was survival.
If I lowered my voice, I would be accepted.
If I hid my brilliance, I would be tolerated.
If I made myself smaller, I wouldn’t be rejected.
But here’s the truth no one told me, shrinking never satisfied. It only suffocated.
Every time I lowered myself to fit the mold, I lost pieces of who I truly was. Every time I dimmed my light to make others comfortable, my soul grew restless. Every time I quieted my voice to keep the peace, I denied the very gift God had placed inside me.
And then God whispered: “The places that tried to silence you are the very places I’ve called you to expand.”
I realized that shrinking was never a sign of humility. It was fear disguised as acceptance. True humility isn’t making yourself less; it’s knowing that what God placed in you is meant to be a blessing, not hidden under a bushel.
Daughter, you were not sent to blend in. You were sent to take up holy space. You were not called to shrink. You were called to shine. You were not designed to cower; you were designed to stand. You were not created to echo. You were made to carry a sound uniquely your own.
Look at Esther. She could have shrunk into silence. But she expanded her courage and stepped into her calling “for such a time as this.” Look at Deborah. She could have shrunk into the shadows. But she expanded into leadership, leading a nation with wisdom and fire. Look at Jesus Himself, He never shrank to fit religion’s box; He expanded to reveal the Kingdom.
So today, resist the urge to make yourself small. Stop editing yourself to fit into rooms that can’t hold your brilliance. Stop apologizing for your presence as if it’s an intrusion. Stop questioning whether you are too much.
Hear me clearly: You are not too much. You are not out of place. You are exactly the measure God intended. And your expansion is the answer to someone else’s prayer. Someone is waiting for your fullness, not your fragments. Someone is waiting for your shine, not your shadow. Someone is waiting for your roar, not your whisper.
Do not shrink, queen. Expand. Take up the space God has given you, and watch Him enlarge your territory even more.
With love and holy boldness,
Dr. Anita