“I don’t call them ‘vision’ boards. They are ‘action’ boards,” says Belinda Rivera, Detox volunteer in Lakeland, Florida.
As the Spirit session breakout leader, Belinda shows women how to develop vision for their lives as they construct collages using colorful paper, words and photos cut from magazines, and watercolor backgrounds. But Belinda doesn’t want the participants to stop at their dreams, she encourages them to take action to make their visions reality. Belinda models this in her own life.
She grew up in a family of meager means. They wore hand-me-down clothes and sometimes needed food stamps to eat. But Belinda dreamed about achieving an art education degree. She would be the first person in her family to get a college diploma.
It was a long process. She worked as she attended college full-time. She earned scholarships. She successfully applied for grants and loans. Graduation was just a few weeks away when Belinda received notice she was $4,000 shy of having all her fees and tuition covered. Belinda was frustrated, not only because she might have to put off her graduation, but also because she yearned to show her younger sister that you can live out your dreams.
Belinda prayed and worked extra hours. She frequented the financial aid office. One day, a worker pulled her aside. “We know you’ve been working hard,” he told her. “A check for $4,000 was left here for you so you can finish and get your diploma.”
The next week, she walked the stage to receive her diploma in her hand, with a question in her heart: “How is this not God?” She continues to ask it today.
Belinda shared this vision-to-action story with her Spirit session women. She encouraged them to think about their heart’s desire and consider what God is calling them to do.
Belinda also leads a Detox community group in Bible study. The group, consisting of older teenagers, young adults, and mothers recently finished What’s Brewing? She enjoys seeing their interaction and hearing responses such as “Wow, this is a safe place where I can be myself” or “This is what I needed to get through my week.”
She actively pursues the vision God gives her: evangelism.
“I feel like God has put us on this earth to spread the Lord’s Name. We came to earth with nothing and we leave with nothing. The only thing we can take with us is other people’s souls.”
