WWJD (What Would Jane Do): Reclaiming Sovereignty in Step 5

There was a time I asked What Would Jesus Do?

And I meant it.

It wasn’t just a bracelet or a bumper sticker.

It was my entire moral framework.

Jesus would forgive.

Turn the other cheek.

Serve.

Sacrifice.

Stay humble.

So I did.

I forgave people who weren’t sorry.

I said yes when I wanted to scream no.

I let people cross my boundaries and called it grace.

I softened myself into something small, palatable, holy.

Because that’s what good women do.

That’s what faithful women do.

That’s what worthy women do.

But it broke me.

Quietly.

Slowly.

Unholy in its own way.

Until one day, I realized I was disappearing underneath all that virtue.

That’s when the question changed.

Not WWJD (the old one).

But WWJD....What Would Jane Do?

And let me tell you:

Jane wouldn’t stay to prove a point.

Jane wouldn’t turn the cheek that gets slapped.

She’d turn the other one...

the one that walks away,

the one that says, “Kiss this, and good luck,”

the one that finally leaves the room.

Step 5 is where I admit a truth I once thought was sinful:

I don’t owe anyone my holiness if it costs me my humanity.

This is the work of reclaiming yourself.

This is where the old script about being “good” gets replaced with being whole.

This is where a lifetime of conditioning falls apart, and you realize the real rebellion is choosing yourself.

And yes, this is also where I learned the difference between faith and obedience,

and how often obedience is weaponized against women.

Step 5 is liberation.

Step 5 is reclaiming sovereignty.

Step 5 is the moment WWJD becomes a form of spiritual self-defense.

This is the step where What Would Jane Do? becomes a form of spiritual self-defense.

And it’s long overdue.

A Slice of Humble Pie

They wanted me to turn the other cheek.

I did...

just not the one they were expecting.

Reflection

What sacred or moral rule did you outgrow?

And who did you become once you stopped sacrificing yourself to uphold it?

Affirmation

I’m not here to be a savior or a saint.

I’m here to be sovereign.