My luggage got lost today. So here I sit, in a random hotel room in Randomville, USA with no clothes. Or shoes. Or hairspray.
It’s knocking on the door of a lot of my insecurities. What if the suitcase doesn’t show up today? What do I wear to my meetings tomorrow? And MAKEUP! I hadn’t even thought about my makeup. Jesus take the wheel… and by “wheel” I mean “these bags under my eyes.”
Laugh if you will, but this situation is bringing out some fear in me- I’m hearing the whispers of the fear voices and no matter their inflection or tone, it always, for me, leads back to “you aren’t enough.”
It takes courage to believe that the Annie God made is enough. He made me on purpose, and I get to believe that. I GET TO believe that.
I wrote a book called Let’s All Be Brave because I believe that courage is in each of us and if we will make the brave choices, it will inspire the people around you to make the brave choices, too. It doesn’t have to be BIG, like moving to China or quitting your job (though certainly those things require courage). It can be everyday moments.
Like today- when I have to be brave enough to be me, even if being me means wearing the same outfit two days in a row to business meetings that matter. (Two days in a row in the summer at the beach? Please + thank you. At a board room table? Yikes + Oops.)
I believe the first step in being brave is believing that God made you on purpose, that you are who He says you are. That the voice that speaks loudest in your mind and heart is the voice of your Father telling you how you are loved, redeemed, forgiven, beautiful.
And for many women, the mirror isn’t the first place we look for encouragement or courage or a reminder of the good. But I think that’s what we should do- look right in our own faces, made up or not, brushed hair (teeth?) or not, weight lost, weight found. We must be brave enough to believe that God knew what He was doing when He made each of us, uniquely, and He calls you beautiful.
Here is what I know: God made you on purpose and God made you to be brave. If you will choose to believe those truths, everything changes. EVERYTHING.
Enter to Win a copy of Annie’s book Let’s All Be Brave.
