She explained, “I didn’t hear an audible voice, but I felt the Lord convict my heart, just like clear as day, just say, ‘You say I’m your first priority, but I’m not.’”
That prompted Ireland to tell the Lord, “You know I love you so much and you know my life. You know I’m pulled in different directions. We’re going to have so much time together later. It’s going to be so good. But you know how it is right now.” Ireland said God told her, “Put me first and I will give you more time with your kids. I’ll give you better time with your kids.”
“That’s when I started to set my alarm 15 minutes early and I’d start just praying and reading the Bible,” Ireland said, sharing that what started as 15 minutes soon became an hour. Now she “can’t start the day” without time with Jesus.
“He is so good and he is so faithful and he has been so patient with me, and it helps me to be patient with others and see people through his eyes,” Ireland added.
Kathy Ireland Explains the Importance of Discipleship
The entrepreneur emphasized the importance of discipleship and accountability. She said these principles guide both her personal life and her business, where she and her team pray together and seek to ensure their decisions align with biblical values.
Discipleship is “critically important,” Ireland said. “Jesus said, ‘Go and make disciples of all the earth.’ We all need that accountability. Iron sharpens iron.”
“I have specific people in my life who I trust in their walk with the Lord” who hold her accountable, Ireland emphasized. “It’s so important,” she said. “We can’t do it alone. God didn’t design us to walk this out alone.”
Ireland also reflected on the cost of standing firm in faith within a competitive industry, saying it has occasionally resulted in lost opportunities or criticism but that those losses ultimately proved insignificant.
Ireland urged believers not to live in fear but to remain spiritually alert, prioritize God, and refuse to be defined by others’ opinions. She said placing God first strengthens every other relationship and brings peace that surpasses understanding.
