Do you remember being a kid? If you were anything like me, you were fearless.
Climbing, jumping, digging in the mud—I never worried about the consequences.
In my childhood home, we had a staircase that led upstairs. The staircase had just enough wood edging that my older sister and I would shimmy along the upper portion, hanging over the stairs. How dangerous, right? Yet we never thought about falling to the steps below, a spindle breaking, or slipping off that narrow strip of wood.
We only thought about our destination.
Who could go the furthest?
We were having fun.
Now that I’m an adult, I find myself focusing more on the fall than the shimmy up.
I catch myself second-guessing decisions, worrying about what others think, and being too afraid to try.
For years, I’ve struggled with doubt—wondering if I’m making the right decisions about career and family. I sometimes feel behind, like everyone else is so far ahead. I think about how different life might look if I had chosen another path. Even with TAR & PITCH, I was afraid of what others would think. I remember after forming my LLC and designing my site, telling myself, “This isn’t good enough to share.”
Sometimes people don't see our potential, or they try to focus our attention on failure. For example, when I applied to law school, I was told by some that I was not competitive enough. It really hurt my feelings and made me feel like a joke! I actually believed that lie for awhile, but now, I'm graduating law school with honors.
Life is full of ups and downs. We aren’t promised a life without failure, but we are promised a God who knows and prepares plans for us (Jeremiah 29:11). At some point, we have to stop comparing. We have to trust that God is in control and give our worries to Him (1 Peter 5:7). Whether we succeed or stumble, all we can do is give our best effort and seek to glorify Him, trusting He will place us where he needs in life.
Wouldn’t you rather climb the stairs without constantly worrying about the fall?
I know I would.