Learning to be Brave

I’m reading this cute (challenging and encouraging, too) book by an adorable (well, I imagine her to be adorable because how could she not be?) author named Annie Downs. It’s called “Let’s All Be Brave” and in many ways it’s an easy read. Don’t get me wrong, this book has challenged me to do things I had sworn off years ago. I am sifting through things I didn’t know required my bravery and am challenged to deal with them. But what I love most about this book is you feel like you’re sitting down and talking with a close friend over a cup of coffee. With every new page I turn, I feel like I’m getting a glimpse into my own soul with her words. Man, is it refreshing. 

So, I’m learning to be brave. By no means would I consider myself a brave person. AT ALL. Sure, I love surprises and I love adventures, like trying new foods, traveling to foreign places, cliff diving, eating at a hole-in-the-wall restaurant even if it means running the risk of food poisoning. But, traditionally, I follow the rules. I do what I’m supposed to, I don’t ask (too many) questions, I listen to authority, and I don’t take big risks if I’m uncertain of the outcome. I think most people would agree that to risk being brave in an emotionally vulnerable way is the most frightening kind. Well, one little nugget of truth I’ve pulled from my friend (is it okay to refer to Annie Downs as my friend? I mean we’re basically soul sisters...) Annie’s book is that you don’t need to know the whole story. We’re not meant to know the whole story, or hold onto it. You just have to take that first step. Do the first thing. You don’t need to know or worry about the next thing, or second or third thing, or the ending to the story; just do the first thing. When you finish that, you move on to the next thing, and the the next. And so on. Sure, you keep the big picture in mind, but it changes shape as you make decisions and you are flexible and learn to be okay with that, and maybe it turns out different (and better) than you thought. (You’d think after 5 years of teaching little 11 and 12 year old's this same process in their writing and their projects I would have thought to apply this to my own life? Nope.)

Being brave means all kinds of things for people. For me, it has meant having conversations with people where I have had to be bold and say things I swore I would never say (I mean, really, in a million-years-pinky-promised-I-would-never-ever-say kind of way). It’s also meant dealing with things from the past that I sort of glossed over and ignored or pushed away. Being brave has also meant thinking that the future might be different than I thought (and maybe brighter and better than I could have possibly imagined on my own). Isn’t that something? What does being brave mean for you? Having a tough conversation, offering forgiveness, following through, trying something new... I hope you do it, whatever it is. Just do the first thing. Annie (my new bff) is right when she says it's all you have to do. 

My very favorite place in the entire world is the beach. There’s not one in particular that I love, but if I’ve got sand, sun, and the ocean I’m the happiest girl seen since the Backstreet Boys announced a reunion tour. I love it for a million reasons, but I’ll spare you. One of the reasons I love the beach is because I can gaze out at the ocean and I’m absolutely mesmerized by the vastness of it. Pondering the depth of the ocean and everything that’s unseen has my mind spinning before I even know what’s happening. So, as I’m sitting in my cozy blue chair and working on my tan, I’m thinking about being brave, and the sparkling ocean and a familiar story flashes to my mind. I flip there in my Bible and read Matthew 14, where Jesus walks on the water with Peter. The winds and the waves were crashing against the boat the disciples were on while Jesus was alone praying elsewhere. (The man had just fed 5,000+ people, so he probably needed a little alone time. Ya feel?) Jesus walks out to the boat out on the lake knowing the distress of the disciples, but they mistake him for a ghost. 

“But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”

“Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.”

“Come,” he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus.

Peter got out of the boat and WALKED ON THE WATER. What?! Madness, I tell you. Amazing, I tell you. If you read on, he begins to sink because he notices the wind and waves encircling him. He takes his gaze off Jesus, who is the key to his bravery. But Jesus loves him; he doesn’t let Peter sink or even come close to drowning. He is with him the entire time. He holds him up. Peter, with his failures and mess-ups and all, experienced Jesus in a way no one else on the boat did, and Jesus never failed him. Peter experienced Jesus in an incredible way that no one else in that boat did because he was brave and because Jesus is all good all the time. He stepped out of the boat. He walked on the water with Jesus. I want to be that kind of brave. I know I’ll mess up, I’ll make mistakes, I’ll fail. I'll lose sight of Jesus sometimes. All of these things will happen regardless. I want to live a life that takes risks, not recklessly, but with my eyes fixed on Jesus, taking one step at a time, ignoring the wind and waves, learning to be brave, whatever it means. 

**Let’s All Be Brave by Annie Downs** --> buy me here! (you won't regret it)