By: Ali Elizabeth Turner
Two weeks ago, I made a new friend that I have never met. Her name is Jamie Kern Lima, and here is the reason I feel like she is my friend. First of all, she loves God and wants to serve Him. Second of all, she loves people and wants to serve them. And thirdly, she has set out on a quest to properly love herself the way God commands us to do, and to teach others to do the same. Her intent is to “leave the campground better than when she found it,” and to not lose her soul in the process. Her desire is to both learn and teach a concept of self-worth that is neither woo-woo or conceited, but is practical, doable, manageable, and above all, will make our Maker smile. Broadly, even.
Here are some reasons why Jamie feels like a friend and fellow traveler. She has battled with her skin, with her weight, and with her identity. She has at times been in sorry relationships, found that no matter how much she achieved, it was never enough, and struggled to find her destiny and purpose, let alone walk in it.
I have battled with eczema since I was born, and have at times itched so bad that I just wanted to go Home for good. It is no fun to look like a lobster and have your eyes nearly swell shut from the swelling and inflammation. Weight? Oh yeah, that has been an adventure. Sorry relationships? Yep, if you count a scar on my right hand that I got when I was 18 from my next-door neighbor, and boyfriends who were utterly dysfunctional, I think I qualify for the “Sure-do-know-how-to-pick-‘em-Award.” (Thankfully my husband is not a member of that particular band.)
I have been to “Never-never-enough Land” more times than I could count, even as a believer. I am light years from where I began when I first was a little hippie chick Jesus Person in 1970, and I am on a quest to walk in the Scripture that says to “love your neighbor as yourself” full on, and discover what it actually means.
So, my “new friend Jamie” has written a book that is simply called, Worthy. In it, she talks about being adopted, looking for love in all the wrong places, getting her dream job as a news anchor and having the rosacea with which she battles turn bright red in the middle of the broadcast to the point that the producer said in her earpiece, “What’s wrong with your skin?” Ow. Just ow.
So, what did she do? She and her husband quit their jobs and through countless iterations came up with a makeup line that was designed to help heal skin. How did they do that? Google. Add to that, hundreds of “No, we are not interested,” responses from would-be investors, and then the all-time zinger — “We don’t think women will buy from someone who looks like you,” and you have the components of what basically forced Jamie to find her worth in something, and Someone far more reliable than humans. And oh, by the way, she sold her company, It Cosmetics to L’Oreal for 1.2 BILLION dollars and went on to become the first female CEO of L’Oreal, like, ever.
Here is a teaser of a concept that I hope will inspire you to get the book and devour it. Self-confidence and self-worth are not the same thing. Not by a long shot. One has to do with the external, and one has to do with the internal. You want an “I-could-have-had-a-V-8-moment”? That is the first of many. Jamie has an uncommon handle on “fearfully and wonderfully made,” and she is just gettin’ started.
Since breaking the billion-dollar bulwark, Jamie is teaching women and men to find and walk in their God-given purpose with humility and boldness, and build community in the process. When I hear her speak, I feel like we are out for coffee down the street, or maybe we’re in our pajamas. And, I have
decided to pre-order the book, Worthy, which is going to be here on the 20th of February and join her Facebook group. I hope you will do the same, and I hope we can compare notes and cheer each other on. Worthy is available at Amazon, on Audible, and at www.worthy.com. Jamie is also sponsoring an all-day, FREE seminar on February 24 called, Becoming Unstoppable. I have signed up, and can hardly wait. If you are game, curious, desperate, hungry, or all of it, go to www.becomingunstoppable.com. I could go for some serious “turned-upside-down” time. You?
By: Ali Elizabeth Turner
May 3, 2024
