Being brave to me is a symbol of no fear despite how you feel on the inside. In my life, I have met many brave people who despite the odds that life has thrown them still stand tall and tell of their stories. I have never really thought of myself as brave as I was frequently caught on the fence of fear and indecision and chose to go through a large part of my life on the middle ground. Many times we are stuck in the middle ground and this has been a cemetery of the dreams of many individuals.
We are made for more. The status quo may try to hold you down as you look to the world to tell you who you are, but the world is never satisfied, and we are never good enough for the demands of this world. With trying to keep up with the constantly changing status quo, we find ourselves drained and worn out which is not exactly how you picture yourself living your best life.
God is love and only love can cut the strings that hold us down. Love not as the world defines it, but what God’s word defines love as. We must genuinely love ourselves and out of that shall we then be able to love others. God’s love transcends time for He first loved us before we were formed in our mothers’ wombs. We were accepted and chosen even before we knew so. Through this can we rest knowing that the God of this entire universe has loved and chosen us despite our flaws and the point in our journeys that we are at.
Knowing that we don’t have to earn God’s approval or love, but it has been given to us makes a great difference. We are able to move in confidence and be the best that we can be and so thrive where we have been planted. We are braver than we realize and though it may not seem to be so in the start, having this attitude helps us to know that we can be all that God wants us to be and stand up for what we believe in. 1 John 3:1a, “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!”
Our whole narrative changes and the way we live our lives is no longer in competition and trying to be better than others, but in pleasing God and giving Him all the glory through our stories. It is never easy, and everything is a process with us taking it one day at a time, but it is possible. The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step and we have all been invited to take the first step on this journey.
