When the Going Gets Tough, The Tough, Well...?

Let's face it, everyone has good days, and everyone has days that feel like you should have never gotten out of bed!

In reality the poop was already hitting the fan...

It seems like the minute you start to really believe in the scary thing like walking out your vision or your calling, the poop hits the fan. In reality, the poop was already hitting the fan and has since started dripping down the walls. I know, gross, right? But let's really think about it, life is not perfect unless you are a rich heir to fortune with your own reality television show, (tongue in cheek) or you are oblivious to the world around you... Those might be the same thing, come to think of it. Bills still need to be paid, the house still has to be cleaned and you will face at least one life altering event in any given week, more if you have teenagers.

I'm Kidding... A Little!

As I have started walking my own personal calling out, I am realizing more and more that the little stuff is magnified and the promises of success are minimized. Promises like, "I know the plans I have for you.. " or "...Everything works for my good." These great words of encouragement are replaced by... "What happens a month from now? or "How long does it take for a bank to foreclose?" I'm kidding... a little, but, really, it's okay to have doubts. It's even okay to scream in frustration once in awhile, as long as it does not become the sound that your nosy neighbor hears every night around 10:30. (That seems to be the time when the "what ifs" always come creeping in.)

It was the great theologian, Christopher Robin that said...

“You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think."

You see, at some point in your life, you will need to take at least one extreme step of faith. Maybe you have already and you are on the other side of the "what ifs". Maybe you are still walking through them, like me. In either case, it is imperative to know that you are stronger than you realize. Each one of us has this crazy wild side that actually would enjoy jumping off of a moving train just to say that you've done it. I know some of you out there are saying, "not me," Think about it this way, what is it to fall in love? In reality, it's taking a perfectly fine life and adding the complete risk of rejection and pain.

It's just like that train. You can jump, thinking you will be okay, only to find yourself bouncing down a hill at break neck speeds with only bruising and broken ankles at the bottom. In the same way, love can leave you in a heap at the bottom of an embankment. But what is the alternative? If you never take the risk, you will never get to experience the exhilaration of the first touch, or the fist kiss. If you never take the risk you would not know the absolute freedom of being loved unconditionally by someone so beautiful.

I believe it was Albert Einstein who aptly observed...

"Any man that can drive a car safely while kissing a pretty girl is simply not giving the kiss the attention it deserves."

...we can't do yesterday again

So let's be honest, risk is scary, it will literally cause your stomach to reside in your throat, and there will be days that feel like it isn't worth it at all. There will also be days where your successes and gains far out weigh the bruising that happened yesterday. After all, we can't do yesterday again, but we can choose how we face tomorrow.

Will you stay in the boat surrounded by fearful people? Or will you take a step of faith and walk on water?