Leah Moler on Ecclesiastes 3
She Speaks is a conversation series that launches with each Ruah book.
For each She Speaks, we ask five women to answer the same three reflective questions about one meaningful theme. It's an honor for us to share the heartfelt words of these women.
You will see several videos in the blog post below. Following each video, there is a short transcription of what Leah says, so you can either watch the video OR read her wise words.
Grab a cup of coffee or tea, cozy up, and enjoy!
Wisdom from Leah Moler
On Ecclesiastes 3:1-15
Can you share a little about yourself?
Hi! My name is Leah Moler. I’m in my midtwenties. I am happy married to the love of my life. We have been married for two years and been together for almost seven. No human children of our own, just a bunch of fur children that we love very much. I am the face behind my faith & lifestyle brand, Life as Leah Knows.
My Instagram and my blog are my two main platforms for sure. My platforms really focus around living unapologetically Catholic; that’s how I like to describe myself. I am a Catholic convert myself, so theology and apologetics have played a huge role in my faith journey personally. I really try hard to convey my passion for that. Hopefully other people catch on to the passion for theology and apologetics, because I truly believe that there is a need for a revival of that within the church.
In my short span of being Catholic, I have found so many who don’t truly understand their own faith. They don’t really understand what it is they believe and why they believe it. I think there are these stereotypes that apologetics and theology are just for old men, and that’s just not true. So I really like to try and inspire young Catholics to get into it as well because I believe it can totally change your perception of Catholicism and what it is and help you to live unapologetically Catholic.
So anyways, that’s a little bit about my brand. I also really like to break stereotypes as well, so even though I’m somewhat of a theology nerd, I’m super fun and try to convey that and convey balance.. to live your life 100% for the Lord without being boring either.
Anyways, it is nice to meet you all!
Which verse from the Ecclesiastes passage best describes your current season of life? Why?
Definitely verse 7, which says “a time to tear and a time to sew, a time to keep silent, and a time to speak.” This, without a doubt, spoke to me as soon as I read this in this season of life. So I’m in my mid-twenties, and I graduated a few years ago with my masters in counseling. A couple of months after I graduated, we moved to a different state for my husband’s job.
Long story short, in this state, I am not qualified to be a counselor, so it kind of took my career out from under me. That’s how I felt. I can’t even begin to describe how I was deflated. I cried and was frustrated. I was angry. That is really the only way I can describe it. It’s something that has been a life lesson because I didn’t realize how prideful I was until I took the long, really hard, fall down to humility. I have continued to learn that lesson and God has absolutely, honestly, torn out my pride and sewn it back together with humility. It has been a really hard lesson for me to learn.
It [makes me] think of kicking and screaming, and I think that goes also with ‘a time to keep silent and to time to speak.” I have learned that silence can be one of the most powerful forms of humility if harnessed in the correct way. I’m a big, outspoken person, so I’ve had to learn in my new job, in a career that I never expected to be in, to sometimes sit back and listen. Listening is a deep and sincere form of humility. You don’t always have to say something. So for me, it’s definitely verse 7 [that speaks to me the most].
How do you strive to embrace each season of your life? Can you share an example from this season or a previous season?
I really strive to embrace each season by realizing that it is a season, so you’re only going to get one of it. First of all, embrace the fact that you’re not going to get this season of life again. With that said, there is always something in it that I believe… well, there’s room for growth. There’s a reason for it. There’s a reason for the season.
I think the older I get, the more that hindsight is 20/20, and I think I’m starting to realize that more and more. Just how God works through each season, even if you’re not seeing it right now. It may be a season of joy for you, and it might be a season of trial. Regardless, I believe God is molding you through growth in whatever that season is and I think it takes a lot of reflection and insight (or just maybe a lot of time and looking back) to realize what it was that He was molding you for at that time.
I still don’t know exactly, during this season, what He is molding me into yet. I really don’t know, but I believe I’m being molded for a reason. I don’t know what that is, I know He does, and so I have learned to embrace His plan instead of mine. The quicker I let go of my own plans, generally the easier it seems to go. This season of life? Not as planned.. at all. And clearly God has had different plans and the quicker I’ve been able to accept that, the more I’ve been able to grow personally, professionally, in my marriage, and in everything else.
If you could offer yourself wisdom on this subject what would it be? What does your heart need to hear today?
There’s a lot I need to say to myself, so here we go, haha!
When you’re in your teens and your early twenties and you’re in college, you get inundated with all of this encouragement I feel like. At least I did. “You’re full of all of this potential; you can change the world. You’ve got these great grades, you’re going to do such amazing things, I can’t wait to see what you’re going to grow up to be. You’re going to be an astronaut, a doctor, a lawyer.”
When it comes time, finally, to live out that potential and you don’t, there comes a profound and deep sense of failure with that. I’ve come to realize that that stems from measuring yourself by the world’s standards, internalizing what they deem valuable, versus what is valuable in Christ.
What you do for a living is the world’s golden standard. Right? You tell someone that you’re a doctor or a lawyer, I mean, come on, that’s impressive. A CEO? That’s really awesome; you’re doing great in life. And it’s really fun to play the game of life by the world’s rules when you’re winning. But as soon as you start losing by their standards, you start to feel lost because now you feel worthless.
The big advice I would give myself is to never let anyone tell you differently - that you are defined in Christ and in Christ alone. Anything less is not true. He is the only one that defines your worth. Never let anyone tell you differently than that.
About Leah Moler
My name is Leah! I am a mid-twenties Southerner that is happily married to the love of my life. My husband and I have been together for almost seven years and married for two. We have no human children, but lots of fur babies. I am the face behind my faith and lifestyle social media brand and blog, ‘LifeasLeahKnows’, which focuses around living thoroughly feminine, authentically unfiltered, and unapologetically Catholic. I am a Catholic convert, growing up in non-denominational home. I am very passionate about theology, particularly biblical apologetics. I am huge proponent of encouraging Catholics, particularly young Catholics, to better understand their own faith. I really strive to change the negative stigma surrounding Catholicism (I swear Catholics are like really cool people) and I hope ‘LifeasLeahKnows’ helps take a small step in that direction!
Blog: www.lifeasleahknows.com
Instagram: @lifeasleahknows
Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/lifeasleahknows/