“Now Deborah, a prophet, the wife of Lappidoth, was leading Israel at that time.” Judges‬ ‭4:4‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Deborah is one of my favorite leaders mentioned in the Bibles’s Old Testament. She led Israel during a time of great distress and war. She led with courage and wisdom during a time her community desperately needed courage and wisdom.  Deborah was brave.

Deborah’s story came to my mind as I watched this inspiring TED Talk by Reshma Saujani, the founder of Girls Who Code, about women and bravery:

Ms. Saujani’s TED Talk has challenged me to think about bravery vs. perfection in my own life. Do my choices reflect only taking action in an area of my life when I am pretty certain everything will turn out alright? When Deborah directed the army to go into battle, she knew that there would be casualties but a great possibility of victory.  She also knew that if they did not go into battle, total destruction by the enemy was imminent.

If you are a woman reading this post, are you more like the girls and women Reshma describes in her TED Talk, avoiding risk and the potential for failure or are you more like Deborah?  I believe our communities need more Deborahs.

I am striving to be more like Deborah. I am striving to be more brave. Younger women are watching.