If you ask Nadishani Perera if she is happy, she might very well tell you no.

As a young woman, Perera asked God to give her a heart like his. She wanted God to render her unable to “be content or have peace by ignoring the needs of the society, that I will be moved to serve by the love I have for others.”

Perara now serves as the executive director of Transparency International Sri Lanka, a global anticorruption movement founded by former employees of the World Bank. As a legal professional, Perera works to communicate the truth about corrupt leaders, advocate for necessary laws, and enhance transparency. In doing so, she sees God answering the prayer she uttered in her youth.

“I am humbled and deeply joyful for the opportunity to be a servant of God in this country, at this time,” Perera says. “At this critical juncture of my country, where the people are suffering due to their inability to fulfill their basic needs, where around 70 percent of the population have begun skipping one meal, where my bankrupt country is begging for assistance from the nations across the world.”

Perera is one of many women whose stories remind us of God’s faithfulness to give his daughters purpose and power on behalf of others. Chine McDonald, for example, is a leader in public theological debate in the United Kingdom as a Black woman in a subculture that tends to be white, male, and older than her. Hannah Anderson is joining the ranks of female seminary students who have little reason to believe there are jobs waiting for them; yet, they attend seminary anyway, believing what they will learn is a blessing unto itself, even if their gender keeps them from a professional outcome.

Day after day, women around the world are choosing to follow the path God has set out for them, even when it is uncomfortable and lonely. In hearing their stories, may we be encouraged to do the same. As Perera says, “There is only one you in this world”—a you with God-given value, purpose, and mission.