"My strong opinions and passion make me exhausting to be around now"
How it sounds in your head: I see my kids exchange glances when I start talking about what matters to me. Friends change the subject. They want the quiet, agreeable version of me.
"So he began to speak boldly in the synagogue. When Aquila and Priscilla heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately."
-- Acts 18:26Religious spirit demanding older women be silent and compliant instead of prophetic and fierce.
You've been in enough conversations where people tune out or politely redirect. Society expects older women to soften, not strengthen in conviction. The passion that once made you interesting now seems to make you 'difficult.'
A woman so bold and opinionated she functioned as Israel's judge, military strategist, and prophet simultaneously. When the general Barak refused to go to battle without her, she didn't soften her words—she told him straight that a woman would get the glory instead of him, and it happened exactly as she said.
I REFUSE the lie that my passion exhausts people. IT IS WRITTEN that Priscilla explained the way of God MORE ACCURATELY to a celebrated preacher, and Scripture immortalizes her theological boldness. I am not too much—I am a DEBORAH, called to judge and speak and strategize with unfiltered truth. IT IS WRITTEN that the Proverbs 31 woman opens her mouth with WISDOM and the law of KINDNESS is on her tongue—both truth AND strength. My strong opinions are the BARAK blessing of prophetic clarity, not a character flaw to apologize for.
The Father is running toward you saying, 'I didn't give you seven decades of experience to whisper timidly now. Your bold truth is exactly what this generation needs.' He's handing you Deborah's mantle—your intensity is your ASSIGNMENT, not your liability.