Overcomer- Summer Wilson
What do you do?
I’m a wife of one, mother to six, founder of and writer at The Transparency Project.
Growing up, did you always dream that you would be doing what you’re doing now?
To some degree, yes. My dream up through college was to be a news anchor. I loved the idea of telling stories to an unseen audience. I am doing that now but in a different way. Sometimes I have the privilege of speaking to groups, but most of the time I get to tell stories or share thoughts through my blog. My hope is that through my Transparency Project, women will be encouraged to live life transparently, not hiding behind expectations of what we *think* we should be or do or say, but live as we are; daughters of the Most High King who are created in His image and loved unconditionally, and, armed with that knowledge, we live life to the fullest for His glory and the good of those around us.
What made you decide to “go for it” in terms of your career goals/ambitions?
The encouragement of a friend. Aren’t friends great? I love when they see a spark in our hearts and say, “GO FOR IT!!” I’ve got a few of those.
As a mother to (then) 5 children, I got lost. I lost sight of my dreams and hopes and, to be honest, I forgot who Summer was. I knew I had a lot to say but no one to say it to, being that I was surrounded by people who always needed a piece of me (often literally) and had very little quiet time to process my thoughts. My friend encouraged me to start a blog just to process all these thoughts! Those thoughts often end with lessons the Lord has taught me, which I’m so grateful for, as I get to share them and encourage other women going through the same things.
I still have a long way to reach my dreams of becoming an author and speaker, but if that is the Lord’s plan, it’ll happen in His time. In the meantime, I get to keep practicing my craft!
Did you face adversity? How did you overcome that?
Back in the newsroom when I was young (EARLY 20s) and newly married, I was recognized as a kid who had potential. That felt really good. I was promoted quickly from the intern who ran the teleprompter and delivered scripts, to the gal who was responsible for writing a good portion of the news stories featured during the major broadcasts. It wasn’t long after our Executive Producer shared her goals for me (which were awesome) that my husband and I found out I was expecting our first child. Both were very exciting! Well, my pregnancy made me very ill, often too ill to go to work, and I ended up miscarrying. Not long after that I was demoted to the night shift and given pretty disappointing scheduling details. We came to find out that I had been pegged as being on “the family track” and the investment in me was given to someone else.
In all honesty, while it stung a lot, it was a good thing. I’ve spent the last 15 years raising six beautiful children from home. I did, and still, do, miss the newsroom, but I have also matured a great deal as a woman, writer, wife, and friend in ways I could not have if I didn’t experience that rejection. All of these things have provided such great material for where I am now, as an encourager, teacher, and writer.
A lot of women have these big goals & big ideas that they’d like to bring to life, what advice would you give them in terms of how they can make that happen?
Anything worth having as a goal is going to take time, investment, persistence, and flexibility. Yes, have goals. Work hard for them. Expect them to take a lot of time to achieve. But also be flexible in understanding that sometimes our goals don’t align” just right” with God’s plan for our lives. His plan is always best, even if it seems like we’re going in the opposite direction of what we initially set out to do. The end of the road will be better than the original plan!
What’s the biggest regret you have when it comes to your blog/shop/business?
I wish I would have started sooner.
What’s been your proudest moment so far?
Seeing how the Lord used the hardest year of my life to draw others to Him through our story. What a gift!
And, just because we like our coffee around here, how do you take yours?
Grande cappuccino with two sugars in the raw. Because, YUM.
I believe in the story of the overcomer. That has been my story and I believe that is your story too. We want your journey here on the blog to help encourage others just like you and me. If you’d like to share that with us, please come over and share your story with us!
