“Forget what your Mom said about playing with matches. You’re not seven anymore. Strike that match, watch the flame consume the head and dare to wait as it moves, insistently, toward your thumb and forefinger. Sure, you could get burned. But playing it safe is not always best. Without risk, you never fully discover who you are - who you can be.”
I came across this quote the other day and thought it was so good. I’ve talked before about fighting for what you want and not giving up and I think this falls along the same lines. There’s nothing in the world wrong with playing it safe but if we do, what all will we be missing out on? I’m speaking as much to myself as to those reading this; I think we sometimes just need that push to propel us to do things that may be out of our comfort zone but are nonetheless needed in order to stretch and grow us. I think risk is a good way of finding out what we’re truly made of. Do we have the grit and drive to step out or just stay in the box where it’s safe and everything is predictable? I once read that, “Courage isn't an absence of fear. It's doing what you are afraid to do. It's having the power to let go of the familiar and forge ahead into new territory." Here’s my challenge to myself and all those reading this: even if you’re scared to no end, be courageous and take that jump anyway. How many people in the Bible were scared when God asked them to take a risk? Think about David when facing Goliath, Noah when asked to build a ginormous boat, Esther when asked to go to the king on behalf of her people, putting her own life on the line? And let’s not forget Mary. Imagine how scared she was when realizing she was going to be giving birth to the Savior of the world. Yet she still said yes and we all can benefit from that decision.
Today’s side of laughter is funny but also helps make my point. I was flipping channels and came across Gilmore Girls. I don’t usually watch the show but this episode had a way of drawing me in and I realized one of the scenes fit perfectly into the topic for this post. Here’s the clip.
I came across this quote the other day and thought it was so good. I’ve talked before about fighting for what you want and not giving up and I think this falls along the same lines. There’s nothing in the world wrong with playing it safe but if we do, what all will we be missing out on? I’m speaking as much to myself as to those reading this; I think we sometimes just need that push to propel us to do things that may be out of our comfort zone but are nonetheless needed in order to stretch and grow us. I think risk is a good way of finding out what we’re truly made of. Do we have the grit and drive to step out or just stay in the box where it’s safe and everything is predictable? I once read that, “Courage isn't an absence of fear. It's doing what you are afraid to do. It's having the power to let go of the familiar and forge ahead into new territory." Here’s my challenge to myself and all those reading this: even if you’re scared to no end, be courageous and take that jump anyway. How many people in the Bible were scared when God asked them to take a risk? Think about David when facing Goliath, Noah when asked to build a ginormous boat, Esther when asked to go to the king on behalf of her people, putting her own life on the line? And let’s not forget Mary. Imagine how scared she was when realizing she was going to be giving birth to the Savior of the world. Yet she still said yes and we all can benefit from that decision.
Today’s side of laughter is funny but also helps make my point. I was flipping channels and came across Gilmore Girls. I don’t usually watch the show but this episode had a way of drawing me in and I realized one of the scenes fit perfectly into the topic for this post. Here’s the clip.
Oh, that Gilmore Girls episode is one of my favorites as well -- in fact, I have it TiVo'd and I just watched it again last night! It is very much about stepping out and doing things you've never done before. There were actually lots of firsts in that episode -- Zach and Lane's first date, Luke's first dealings with Lorelai's parents from the boyfriend perspective, etc. Some turned out great, some not so great, but hey, isn't that like life?
ReplyDelete- Alicia