What Makes You Courageous?

I want to be honest. I want to be completely transparent and open about the fact that I am not perfect. I think that so often kids are presented with these role models and think that the bar is set so high there is no way a "normal" person would be able to reach it. 

I think this was probably the hardest stereotype I had to face. The way media works is that people post only the highlights- the best parts- of their lives. They leave out the boring bits. The problem is that the type of timeline that creates in our heads is only made up of what we know about them, and then we create this idea that their life is perfect. Suddenly we start comparing every aspect of our lives to the mere peaks of theirs.

Look at a mountain. How big is the peak? How much space does it actually take up? How much work goes into actually getting to the top?

Exactly.

When I think about the types of role models I want to have in my life, the first word I want to be able to describe them with is "accessible." I want to know that they are "normal" too. Of course I want to set my goals high and the only reason normal is in quotations is because the term is relative to me. My normal is goofy, weird, personable, crazy, and not always perfect. However, normal doesn't have to mean mediocre. My role models set goals and realize the work that has to go into achieving them. 

I want people to know that I am accessible. I am silly, stubborn, crazy, sassy, and I have a story too. I was not always who I am today. I hid myself for a long time.

I want to be brave enough to tell the world about the parts of me I've hidden for so long. I want to lean on God and trust that He will not let me fall on my face, but if He does, I trust He will give me the sense of humor to laugh it off and the faith to try it again. 

When a young man named Joshua was told that God had chosen him to lead God's people he was afraid. He was insecure. God assured Joshua that no matter what, if he trusted Him, the Lord would be with him wherever he went. So he pushed past the insecurities and the self-doubt and followed God. He lead God's people to the promised land and he changed the world.

I want to live like that. I want to trust in God. But most importantly I want to know about everyone else. 

What makes you courageous?

#LIVEcourageously

Alex