"We don't know what we're missing out on. We try to plan our entire lives based on comfortability and end up losing out on an incredible experience, because we are afraid. God doesn't want us to be afraid. He wants us to trust Him." We are so sheltered. Most of us live our entire lives in this bubble, occasionally poking the shell, contemplating about stepping out but never fully do. We grow up in the same town and go to college within a hundred mile radius. We never attempt to learn about outside cultures, we don't learn a new language, and we don't have to. This clearly isn't true for everyone, and there's nothing wrong staying close by. It seems though that we are missing out on life. We are missing out on the life filled with different cultures, different prejudices, different ways of taking coffee. We enjoy our life and don't want to risk messing it up by pushing our comfort zone.
Last year I flirted with the idea of foreign exchange. I've always been obsessed with the french culture and everything was lining up for it to be an option for me to live there for my junior year of high school. I talked with the Rotary for an hour on the phone about how to apply, I researched YouTube videos and blogs of American foreign exchange students, my parents were onboard, and I told my friends. I did everything but pack my bags and buy a ticket. Obviously, however, I didn't go. I was afraid. I didn't want to leave everything I've ever known behind at 16; I didn't want to miss out on a year of home, and I didn't want to become a stranger to my tightest people. What I'm trying to say, through my own personal experience, is that we don't know what we're missing out on. We try to plan our entire lives based on comfortability and end up losing out on an incredible experience, because we are afraid. God doesn't want us to be afraid. He wants us to trust Him, even when it seems terrifying. He wants us to take risks and jump. It doesn't have to be moving to a different country or state, it can simply be deciding to go out for the evening with the friends instead of sitting at home. It can be trying ordering something different at dinner, reaching out to someone you haven't talked to in a while. It is not just picking up and moving to Africa, it's about the little things. Don't live your life in a personal bubble, be fearless and trust that God has a plan for your life, and He isn't ever going to abandon you.
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"Choose everyday to forgive yourself. You are human, flawed, but most of all worthy of love."
alison malee L i b b y G r a c eAs you read what I've written in journal I want it to feel like we're talking over coffee. I encourage you to send me a note, so we can continue the conversation.
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