Once upon a time...

  This week has definitely been one of revelation, and faith on fire! 

So the story goes, once upon a time, there was a little girl who was very afraid. Of people, of change, of life, of opinions, of everything around her. She had always been afraid. As she grew, the fear grew with her. The words that hurt were planted deep, and she believed every harsh judgement- that she wasn't good enough, that she was worthless, and stupid. That she would never amount to anything. That it was impossible to love her. Weird, odd, crazy, and so many other words that were used to describe her became a firm definition of her character, and she believed them all. As an adult, adding poor decisions, trauma, and violence to the mix added another level of fear and doubt. And she believed she deserved punishment all the time for the things she had done. She saw only the dark side of herself, but never told a soul. Most who knew her at this point would say she was wild, and fun, energetic, and adventurous. They saw what she chose to show them, hiding behind the walls she had built, so no one would ever get to the places that were so scarred and hurt.  And for a few years, this worked well. She became a mom, a hard working woman and a granny. She wrote down her thoughts, and sorted through the emotions, and dug deep to find purpose and meaning. God was with her, though she had no idea how close He walked. Until now. All the years of doubt, and fear, are becoming distant memories, as she learns to lean in to her faith, trust God in all things, and leave the burdens at the cross. Jesus paid the ultimate price so that the sins of her past and present could be forgiven. She chooses to honor that sacrifice. 

As we go through life, certain experiences shape us, change us, and leave a mark. Be WE have a choice to become better, not bitter. We have a choice to love instead of hate. We have a choice to do good or do harm. There is such a bigger picture than the one we see looking out our tiny windows. There is so much that we can do to change the world, use our God given gifts, and live boldly. We weren't created to keep it to ourselves, but to share our faith, our gifts, and our testimony with the world.

Today I have put my armor on, and prepared for battle. I choose life! I choose hope, joy, and love.

We love because He first loved us.

How big will your brave be today? That is up to YOU.