“But you can ask the people can’t you?” I am used to people yelling things at me seconds before I go on live TV and normally I forget about it, but this one stuck. I was in Fayetteville, NC covering a Black Lives Matter protest, about to do a live shot when a woman approached me and asked me a thought provoking question about racism, a question I wish I had the answer to. When I told her this, she followed it up with that question that stuck with me. I did my live shot and she left, but I have remembered her statement since. She reminded me that I have a voice and a platform: a very important one, one that can reach a lot of people.
Like many of you 2020 has been a whirlwind for me. Living hundreds of miles away from my family, who live in Massachusetts, has made navigating a global pandemic interesting, to say the least. I had to go six months without seeing them and during that time my grandmother died and I had family members diagnosed with COVD-19 (by the grace of God they have all recovered). Through all of the change, heartbreak and questions the only constant has been God. He has reminded me that I am here for a reason. Here, as in North Carolina. Here, as in being a news reporter.
Where I am and the position I hold comes with responsibility and visibility. Whether someone is seeing my news report and forming an opinion or scrolling my social media feeds to see if I wear my mask. What I put out there will be seen, heard, or read by thousands of people. This typically puts the pressure on me, but I am reminded it’s a platform God gave me and I can use it for His will or my own. When I struggle with being so far from those that are most important to me, I am reminded God placed me here. I am reminded He is more than enough and He is my refuge and strength. I am walking in my purpose.
My platform gives me an opportunity to reach people who may not know God loves them. I want to use it to glorify Him. It is a lot easier said than done. Sometimes I question what people may think or maybe they will unfollow me, but if just one person sees the love of God through me it is worth it. So I will keep using my platform and the voice God gave me to reach people for him. Your platform and purpose may look different than mine, but God knows exactly where He has you. It is up to us to use the voice He gave us and where He placed us, for His glory. Whether it is speaking life into your children at breakfast, encouraging your co-workers in a Zoom meeting, or a smile in line at the grocery store from six feet away.
After all, like Esther, perhaps we were placed here for such a time as this: “For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:14 New International Version)
Rosalia Fodera is a current student at Campbell University Divinity School and a multimedia journalist with WRAL in Raleigh, North Carolina.