Be Brave.

Just as 2013 was coming to end, I posted this picture up on my Instagram account with the following caption: 

"If I had to sum up my expectations for 2014 into two words, these would be them. BE BRAVE💫 Believing this year will bestow many challenges and changes, supernatural growth and unheard of favor. I think this is the year I will step out of everything I've ever know, move forward into all I've ever dreamt of and see more strength and beauty in my life then I've ever imagined. The past two years have brought more blessings than I could have ever imagined but I believe this year will push me forward, with boldness and strength into an uncharted place, a place I've only seen in my dreams.... #future #walkitout #byfaith #notfear #bebrave #thetimeisnow" 

Just 12 short weeks later I feel like those words are coming alive in my life. I'm thankful that even through adversity and what seemed like failed faith, God has still been able to refine and redefine His purpose for my live. 

If there is one thing I've learned it is that being brave does not equal the absence of fear. In fact, it is the complete opposite. Being brave means in the midst if the madness, in the face of adversity and when your situation seems so big it could swallow you alive, even then, you move forward in faith. Being brave says "I will not shrink back". 

I may not fight fires or take out bad guys for a living, but I know that daily my beliefs are challenged and my faith is forced to be brave. Daily I struggle to reconsile what reality says is with what my faith says should be. Daily I am pushed beyond my comfort zone and into the realm of unknown. Daily I push my limits past anything recognizable. 

I realize that the life and legacy I deeply desire to see unfold before me is going to take a fight and it is going to take a brave stance.  

I really don't know what tomorrow, the next day, the next month or even the next year will bring but I do know that regardless of what happens, whether it be good or bad, happy or sad, fun or failure, joy or pain, through it all, I will be brave. 

What is standing in your way today? What have you backed down to for far too long? A fear? An insecurity? A feeling of hopelessness? A failed plan? A broken heart? A failed relationship? A deadend job? A frustration? A feeling of uselessness? What is standing in your way? 

Do not fear. Do not shrink back. Every time you face fear, you have is an opportunity to be brave. Stand up, step out and BE BRAVE. It's time.