“So then each of us shall give account of himself to God.” (James 14:1)
Have you ever had that person in your life that was willing to have the hard conversations with you? Someone filled with wisdom gained from their own story and struggles. When I prayed for someone to share experiences about accountability one person came to mind. She has overcome many trials and obstacles, walked through the rocky ravines and waterfalls of life, she has called me out in my own nonsense, and she even gets paid to hold people accountable. If you have not met her, I would like to introduce you to Grand Island’s own Health Coach celebrity, Angie Rose.
Angie and I go back many years and as I shared with her during our conversation, she played an instrumental role in my own personal growth. When I asked Angie about accountability, she reflected 20 to 30 years back, “Accountability was not something I was good at especially in my addiction; I did whatever I wanted, however I wanted, and never thought about the consequence.” It was not until Angie rededicated her life to Christ that she learned that life is just hard; in her addiction she didn’t have to think about stuff, but after being set free she was able to start facing life’s challenges.
Early in her Christian Walk, Angie recognized that her actions came with consequences, “I needed to learn to be accountable,” She said. As she came to better understand this, she learned that she had the opportunity to change outcomes for good which is exactly what she does, not just for herself, but for others who seek her professional guidance. But before she got here, Angie had to go through her own story of growth and accountability.
Amidst her addiction and in her early days of recovery, Angie opened-up about a struggle that hindered her accountability. “I felt like a victim, everything was always happening to me,” She explained that she had not yet learned how to take authority over her situations and responsibility for her actions; she didn’t know how to change her trajectory. “I know people who lived that mentality their whole life, they are just not accountable to anything, their own actions or their own word and they are a victim always.” This brought me back to a time that she called me out for this exact thing, it was a pivotal moment in my life as I began to realize that no one else was to blame for my struggles.
While Angie has always been a strong woman; in her addiction she was a strong and rebellious woman, not strong and accountable. When she began to study scripture, she learned that we can all be overcomers, and we all play a part in our choices, a role in our destiny. “That’s when I began working on my own weight, my own issues, and my own addiction.” This is when she learned to live.
With few people to teach her accountability she learned to lean on God; His words to her were, “I’m your accountability partner, I am the person you can be accountable to. I’m going to listen, but I’m going to speak as well.” While God placed people to help guide Angie, He also put her in a place of trial and error. “I believe God did that on purpose and I’m okay with that because now I teach other people about accountability all the time, it is part of my business, that’s why people pay me.”
But before she could teach accountability, Angie had to walk it, “the only way to get it is to do it and make mistakes and remain committed.” Angie commits to whatever she is going after: change, healing, growth, whatever God puts on her heart. “I post about intentionality all the time because we have a choice on the direction our life goes, it really is about intention.” A reminder from my last post that accountability, consistency, and intentionality live together.
“I am going to intentionally do the things that I’m not feeling like because a feeling is fickle. Feelings come and go quickly.” Our feelings can change in a flash, triggered by a phone call or text, altered by something on TV or Social media. If we make a commitment to anyone even ourselves it does not matter how we are feeling, we should do it anyway. “I’m going to do what’s right because its right and because it’s going to get me from point A to B to Z.”
As I reflect on these words, I am reminded that I too will give an account to God for my life, and I am challenged me to identify what commitments my actions demonstrate and what commitments I want to demonstrate. I encourage you to do the same and hope that you will share what God reveals to you.
Next week we will continue this conversation with Angie as she shares about the little things that can lead our lives astray.