Words to inspire Alphabet Advent Calendar 0312

Day 3
C is for… Courageous

In honour of our boy who was sadly killed last year, we met up as a family to celebrate what would have been his 18th birthday. Instead of us just having a party I booked adventurous activities like high wall climbing, and canoeing. Some of us had never done things like that before, whereas some of us had. Everyone was willing to give things a go which was great. Behind those activities I actually wanted to give the children a message.
Nae-Nae in particular was so determined to get to the top of the high wall. A few months earlier she went on a school trip and she was petrified of climbing the high wall to the top, but on this day something changed in her and she wasn’t leaving there until she achieved it.

I watched her breathe a deep breath and go. She called down to me a few times for encouragement but she still had to courage to take another step higher and higher until she reached the top. We all rejoiced with her when she made it and she was super happy.

I was in a great job, great salary, amazing bonuses, helping people transform their lives which I loved doing. However something in me knew that wasn’t it for me anymore, but I was so comfortable in the position I didn’t want to take the leap. Well until the offer of redundancy was on that table. By the grace of God I found the courage to grab that opportunity with both hands and run even though it was an extremely different time for us as a family. On paper it looked like yet another tragic event.

I had no idea what would come after that but I knew I had to start a new season and take a new road on my journey. Funnily enough I wasn’t fearful and I’m still not fearful even though I don’t know where I’ll be next year. There is a definite plan for my life and I have visions for days, so I know I’ll be somewhere.

Sometimes it’s really scary to take a leap out of the unknown but if you don’t have the courage to move you will never know what’s outside your circle of familiarity. Sometimes we have to jump out of a plane with a parachute on our back and just believe that the parachute will open and the wind will take us to a safe destination. But if we don’t jump we will never get to that place because the plane can’t land there.
Sometimes our circumstances can cause us to be captive so we need to also be free so we can be courageous. I had to be free of fears of rejection which I struggled with. I had to apply for other jobs and courses and understand that there will be some no’s but there will be a yes. I’m actually really grateful to the no I received! Closed doors can be a blessing too. Thankfully I now have a better understanding of who I am and I know I need to be courageous and go.
When I had a vision for some of things I founded, I had no idea what I was going to do. I had to have the courage to step out even though there wasn’t anything like what I was about to start, so I had nothing to compare it too. That was actually a good thing. Unique is what I do. The thing is, if I didn’t have the courage to go and do, those things wouldn’t be here with the successes they have. I actually can’t imagine my life without the charitable organisations and business I run. They have transformed my character too. I would have never planned to deliver talks to teachers, parents and other professionals. That’s just something I would have never done, but now it’s one of the things I do best.
We do have a choice though. We can either stay in the plane dreaming about the possibilities, think that the desires we have aren’t for us or we can be free to be courageous and jump. The possibilities of successful relationships, healthier lifestyles, new jobs, careers, homes, a greater mental health and so on, could be ours.
I’m jumping, are you coming?

Peace and love

MrsJK