I’ve always wanted to be brave. And sometimes I am. But then there are those other times… times when I let fear, doubt and the comparison curse make me feel not-so-brave. And during those times, my feelings of “blah” and not-so-brave need a kick in the booty. Others times I need a friend to remind me I am brave. I just need to choose to “live” brave.
I invited my friend Annie Downs to stop by and be that friend for us {all} today. She’s part of the (in)courage contributor team with me, and her book about being brave just released into the world this week. All kinds of awesomeness is happening because she was brave enough to write this message; a message we all need to hear! Here’s Annie…
My friend Sarah said she never does anything brave.
She’s 37. Married. Three kids. A dog that yips too much. Her husband has a job and they live in a house.
It’s your basic suburban life, with a literal suburban as the family car.
As we sat at Starbucks, catching up while her kids were in Vacation Bible School, she asked about my new book Let’s All Be Brave and proceeded to inform me of her lack of brave.
I laughed. Sarah is one of the bravest friends I know. We’ve been in each other’s lives for years, since college, and I have watched her be brave over and over again.
Her first date with her future-husband. Brave.
Finding out she was pregnant with #2 quicker than expected (ahem). Brave.
When things got bad after her third baby, you that mama-doesn’t-have-it-in-her-to-cook-another-meal kind of bad? She didn’t run away. She cooked dinner that night and the night after. If you ask me, that’s brave.
Sarah walked away from a job she liked to raise her family. Brave.
Now she works part-time to help ends meet. Brave.
Do you see it? Do you see the brave in the every day? Do you see the moments when fear or hurt or worry could whisper so loudly that all movement halted?
Here’s what’s true about courage: being brave isn’t the absence of fear or worry;
being brave is stepping forward even when the fear still whispers.Brave people hear the fears, they just don’t listen to them.
I laughed at Sarah. Yes, right in her face. (We’re good friends; it was appropriate.) I laughed because I know she is brave, just like I know you are brave.
There have been times when you wanted to quit, but you didn’t. There have been moments when you wanted to say no, but you said yes. There have been opportunities to stay when you knew it was right to leave. So you left.
You, my friend, are brave.
It isn’t just the ones who jump out of planes or move over the ocean that get to wear that courageous title.
It’s yours too.
And when you’ll be brave, the people around you will see that brave and they’ll choose it too. In the everyday moments, in the big moments, look for brave, choose it, and know that your people are watching and deciding to live brave because of YOU.
Let’s all be brave and watch as it changes the world.
Annie F. Downs is an author, blogger, and speaker based in Nashville, Tennessee. Flawed but funny, she uses her writing to highlight the everyday goodness of a real and present God. An author of three books- Let’s All Be Brave, Perfectly Unique, and Speak Love, Annie also loves traveling around the country speaking to young women, college students, and adults. Read more at anniefdowns.com and follow her on Twitter @anniefdowns.
ENTER to WIN:
What resonated with your heart as you read Annie’s thoughts about being brave?Enter to win Annie’s new book, Let’s All Be Brave, by clicking “Share Your Thoughts” below today’s post and do just that. Annie is giving away 2 copies!
This giveaway is now over, but I would still love to hear from you!
I could not agree more about being brave is staying when it would be easier at times to leave. It is having the faith as small as a mustard seed and trusting God.
Wow, I needed to hear this. I haven’t felt brave in a long time. Thank you for speaking Truth.
Thanks, Michelle. You have brought out good points. I must take them before God. God continue to bless you richly and keep you healthy spiritually, socially, emotionally, mentally, and physically.
Brave….just the word brings about that sharp sting of adrenaline-filled anxiety rush you get when you almost hit a car or grab for your child when they almost fall out of the cart, but you keep driving or keep pushing the cart. There are near-misses in life that are constantly around us that we don’t have time to consider before they happen, yet we continue to move on and survive. However, when we have time to think about having to be brave or are given a choice to be brave, i.e. taking on a new role at work or talking/singing in front of people, or moving out into a new realm in our lives, etc., we freak out and avoid it at all cost. The discomfort of knowing ahead of tîme that we need to be brave fills us with paralyzingly fear. If we knew just how brave we were today in unforeseen situations, I wonder if we would grow just a little more in our faith that God is and has been in control all along and in Him, we can be brave.
What jumps out at me is that being brave means being vulnerable, authentic and honest – with ourselves and with others. There is a lesson to be learned in all of our life happenings. As we go through those experiences, being willing to share them with others, gives them the opportunity to learn something, as well. My life experiences have taught me to be courageous and BRAVE. Others have shared how that has impacted their lives and given them the ability to step out and be brave!! It’s like paying it forward – considering I had the opportunity to watch someone else overcome their circumstances and rise above, which gave me what I needed to step out in faith and love! I WANT TO BE BRAVE!!
Wow! I guess I really am brave at times when I never would have thought of it that way. Thank you for the clarity and insight. I will try to look at situations differently now and see the bravery in each one no matter how small it happens to be.
God has called me to be brave in many hings lately. I used to be the person saying no if it was too uncomfortable. Now, God is talking to me about a willing heart. A heart that is willing to say yes when He tells me to do something, not everybody else. A heart that is willing to stand in uncomfortable situations, in conflicts, in things that hurt. I have started to say YES and standing through it all. It is scary, yes. It is terrifying. It us uncomfortable.
But my life has never been richer! I’ve never been so close to God. Not because God has been distant. Because I’ve distanced myself from Him. Because to be able to stand through it all, I need to be close to Him while I sing a song: “keep me close to you, Jesus” and ” Help me stand through it all” by J-team Skudnes(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X7_rmyEL68g). And Jesus, God and the Holy spirit never fail me. Sometimes it may feel like it, but when I look back I see that I’ve been carried where there is only one set of footprints.
Thank you for showing us that being brave is more than jumping out of airplanes;-) The world needs to know. I needed to know. God bless you!
-Ava Sophie
Your comment, “And when you’ll be brave, the people around you will see that brave and they’ll choose it too,” caused me to remember once again – it’s not all about me! Sounds like such a great book for so many!
Julie
I loved reading all of your entries, they are inspiring and I would love to read your book and share with my granddaughter, she has been under attack by the enemy and even though she knows all she needs to do , istakecontrol as a child of God in the name of Jesus, command the enemy to leave and never return again, and pray for a hedge of protection be placed around her, and be strong in the LORD. We both have had some fear issues, I think we need this book!!