A year ago I began a journey to learn about brave. Being skeptical, I would tell people over and over that brave is not a word I would ever use to describe myself. This past year has been not only a chance to discover what brave means to me, but it has been a year long uncovering of a dream that has changed my perspective. This is my story of brave revisited.
If you have been on this journey to grace with me for any length of time, you have heard my heart and read my words about bravery. Because in the process of embracing a change, we all need to extend ourselves grace along the way. Last October, I spent the month exploring brave faith and learned so much as to what brave looks like for myself and others. But even throughout that month long period of digging deeper into bravery, I would still utter the words, “I am not brave”. During this past year, I started dreaming about going to Nicaragua. I began sponsoring a child through Compassion International in Nicaragua and our church put the wheels in motion to give us the opportunity to visit our child as part of a mission trip. I randomly began saying “yes” to opportunities that I believed would turn out to be “noes”. But God had a different ending in mind.
For every “yes”, God countered with opening a door to make my dream come true. I put my name in to go on this trip knowing the number of people allowed to go would be limited. I turned in my deposit and then forgot about it. God doesn’t forget and knew what was hidden in my heart. After the first “yes” came through saying I was picked to go on the trip, my next hurdle was raising the funds to be able to afford the trip. I once again thought this would be a “no” but I ended up with more than enough money because of the generous hearts of friends, family and others who have a strong belief in mission work. At every turn, I thought I would run into a dead end, but God saw the possibility of the open road leading me forward toward Nicaragua.
Two weeks ago, my dream came true. Every thought I believed about myself and my lack of bravery was erased the moment the plane touched the ground in Nicaragua. I was humbled and so grateful that God believed in me enough to make my dream come true. He took me, a most unlikely candidate, and showed me this past year that when we honor God by saying “yes”, He in turn blesses us with more than we could ever imagine.
[Tweet “Brave faith is saying “yes” and moving out of the way for God to take care of the details.”]
I want to encourage all of you today that one simple “yes” can lead to more than you ever dreamed before. Give yourself the gift of saying “yes” and moving out of the way for God to take care of the rest. We are brave and when we embrace God’s truth rather than the voice of our “not enoughs”, God shows us over and over who we really are.
God sees brave where we see fear.
God sees love when we feel unloved.
God knows our hearts when our vision is clouded.
God loves our “yes” especially when we believe it will be a “no”.
Let me leave you with these words of encouragement from Psalm 27. God’s goodness is magnified when we use our “yeses” to honor Him.
I remain confident of this:
I will see the goodness of the Lord
in the land of the living.
14 Wait for the Lord;
be strong and take heart
and wait for the Lord. Psalm 27:13-14
With brave faith and grace for the journey!
Mary
Blessed to be linking up with these fabulous ladies!
and Dawn for Grace Moments
I hadn’t had a chance to read this until today. God’s timing is always perfect. I needed to read your words today and love your encouragement that God knows our hearts when our vision is clouded. Brave on, dear one!
We walk with brave faith when we let go and let God and it is something I will continue to learn for the rest of my life. I am glad these words came st just the right time. God is always so good at that. Brave blessings as we walk through this new week!
Thanks for your honesty. I think it’s not easy to find courage. But I’m sure you did.
Happy weekend to you, brave woman.
Such kind words! I love when you come to visit Lux. I enjoyed your words over at Linda’s place today. Have a great week!
Hi Mary! I love that attitude of saying yes, and then getting out of the way. I often say that I trust, but I wonder how much I insert myself to ‘make’ it happen. It’s so much better to experience it all the way God wants!
I’m so happy that you were able to spend two whole weeks in Nicaragua. How amazing that is to see the work of God on a global scale! That’s certainly not something everyone gets to see. And it all started with ‘yes’. Such a powerful word. What was it like meeting your sponsor child? We support a young man in Africa. I can’t even imagine what it would be like to actually meet him…
Weekend blessings,
Ceil
My visit with my Compassion child was the highlight of my trip. It was a sweet time of getting to know her a little better. She is only four and was very shy. I’m hoping she remembers that day always.
I was only in Nicaragua a week but my eyes were opened and my heart was exposed to so much. It felt very overwhelming and I am still processing but God will continue to teach me what He wants me to learn from that time. I pray you have a chance to meet you young man someday. It is life changing.
Mary, what a wonderful journey you’re on. Thanks for the encouragement to just say “yes” and let God handle the rest. I’m doing that now.
Beautiful testimony of God’s faithfulness! Saying yes isn’t easy when I can’t see the path and all odds are more in favour of no. Yet, He shows over and over that He has plans to prosper me. I just have to learn to let go.
So very proud of you and your brave faith, friend, and can’t wait to hear more about your experiences. I have been to Nicaragua three times (we’re like neighbors) and I love it there.
This was my first mission trip and I was right next to you for a week!!! Someday hopefully I will come to visit you to see the beautiful work you are doing. Thank you for being here and affirming my bravery. Love and hugs!
Mary, such a wonderful post. It is beautiful to see how God continues to work in each of us that which is lacking. I would not use the adjective “brave” to describe myself either. But maybe that is exactly the point – He makes us more than we ever can be in ourselves. We are always a work in progress which makes life such an adventure. Grateful to have stopped here tonight!
God does make us more than we can ever be ourselves. I think most of us default to not thinking we are brave, but God has bigger and better plans and He believes we are brave. When we say “yes” to Him, He cannot wait to lead us right out of our comfort zones. We just need to let Him do what He does best. Easier said than done. I am glad we are a work in progress together, Joanne. I always love when you stop by here. Blessings upon the rest of your week!
Mary, you are a beautiful, brave woman whose heart cry was heard and answered by almighty God. How awesome and inspiring is that?! It’s lovely hearing how you felt a holy nudge inside and it led to this wonderful adventure of faith. It gives me hope as I feel weak and far from brave. Just getting out the house can feel like a marathon journey sometimes! Well done you for saying yes to God’s instigation and seeing it unfold in this lovely way. Blessings and hugs! Xx <3
Thank you for these words but I want to assure you that brave looks different for all of us. It also doesn’t have to be big to be considered brave. Anytime we step out of our comfort zone, we are brave. For you, it can be stepping outside your house on a day when you are feeling stronger. Your brave shines through in your writing and that is one of the reasons I love reading your words.
Saying “yes” is easy. Standing out of the way so God can see it through and trusting the whole way is the hard part. I’m praying for brave “yeses” for all of us and the strength to know that God will take care of everything else. Love and hugs friend!
Do you now have the missions bug or are you at rest?
Great question! I do not have the missions bug at this time but I am open to it if that is what God wants me to do in the future. Thank you for asking the right questions and stopping by to encourage me.
Someone shared Psalm 27 with me just last week and it was refreshment for my soul, so it’s great to see it being brought to my attention again, Mary, at your place! I’m so glad that you are becoming braver and braver along this exciting journey with God. What a blessing to be able to go to Nicaragua. I saw your many photos and posts here, there and everywhere and was excited to see you ministering there. You are doing great things for God, my sweet friend and we are blessed to gain a peek of it whenever you write. You are on my weekly prayer list, girlfriend! Hoping you feel less overwhelmed by stress and more overwhelmed by God’s courage and presence in your life!
I find when I reference a scripture in one of my posts, I end up seeing it many times throughout the week or I many times before I posted it. God knows what I need and gives me many opportunities to learn the lesson. I am glad that you found refreshment from Psalm 27. It’s a good one!
Thank you for encouraging me in my bravery. I know it is all God because without Him, I don’t feel brave. You bless me whenever you stop by and reading that you believe I am doing great things for God affirms that I am on the right path. Thank you for your prayers and please know that you are in my prayers too. Your friendship is a joy my friend!
Mary, what a beautiful post! God is so good, isn’t He? When we don’t believe in ourselves, He still does! He provides a way when there is no way! He is faithful to fulfill the dreams He has placed in our hearts. I love how you surrendered to His way. Many times I struggle with expecting God to show up in a certain way, rather than just letting Him work. Thanks for sharing this encouragement today!
First of all welcome Alisha! I am blessed you stopped by here today. God is amazingly good and He loves to surprise us with beautiful outcomes when we honor Him by saying “yes”. I can relate to expecting certain outcomes when I ask God for something because I always believe I can do it better. God has humbled me more times than I can count. Thank you for joining in the conversation and encouraging me.
I am so glad that you got to go on this trip. God knew all along didn’t he? Reminds me of Susan’s acronym GAKAT or God already knew about that. I never would have described myself as brave either. But God has this way of showing us our own bravery. So much THIS: “He took me, a most unlikely candidate, and showed me this past year that when we honor God by saying “yes”, He in turn blesses us with more than we could ever imagine.” All of us are really unlikely candidates aren’t we?!?! Love you friend!
Yes, God knew all along! I do like the acronym. I have learned how powerful the word “yes” can be this past year when we release it to God. I appreciate your continual encouragement and willingness to affirm my journey. We are unlikely candidates but that is what makes this even more beautiful. Thank you for being such an important part of this community.
I love this, Mary: “Brave faith is saying ‘yes’ and moving out of the way for God to take care of the details.” I feel like I’m great at saying yes in the beginning but then I want to control all of the steps, which I guess is not really saying yes :). I’ve been struggling with insecurity and fear lately and you have encouraged me greatly with your beautiful reminders here. Thank you, my friend!
I am blessed that I was able to encourage you, Candace. I understand how easy it can be to say “yes” and then take over the reins as if we know how to do it all by ourselves. I will pray for all of us that after we say “yes” we can release the details to God. Hoping you find a sense of peace as you journey on this path with God and let Him lead the way.
Giiiirl. Have you ever had a season when God keeps bringing up the same thing again and again? Yep. My Bible study group is doing the book “Brave Enough,” and then I came across your post today…
“I get it, God!”
Thank you for the encouragement today!
Right back at you giiiirl! God certainly will gain our attention any way He can and if that means bringing up the same theme over and over then that’s what He will do. I love how brave keeps coming up. God continues to use this word in my life and this has been going on for a year. Keep me posted about your brave journey. I would love to hear how it turns out! So glad you stopped by! God knew what He was doing didn’t He???
Mary,
It is amazing how if we say “Yes” to God’s will for us, He begins clearing a path like a giant weed whacker through the jungle. No obstacle is too big. I’ve been witnessing and experiencing this on my journey to be brave. I also like your reminder that when we say, “Yes” than we often need to move ourselves out of the way so that God can work. So good to “do” life with other sojourners on this path to Brave….
Blessings friend,
Bev
I can’t think of anyone better to share this journey to brave, my friend! All i know that it requires baby steps and a definite trust that our steps will be guided by God. I love how you describe learning a path with a giant weed whacker. That has God written all over it.
Praying your birthday week is a good one and that your break provides renewal and restoration. Love and hugs coming your way.
I am so glad you had the opportunity to be used of God. I would love to go on a mission trip one day too. 🙂
I pray you have the opportunity to go on a mission trip someday. I love the new perspective and chance to see God’s world outside of my own little corner. Thank you for being here Mary!
Sometimes we’re so busy telling God and others what we’re NOT, that we fail to see who He’s shaped us to be in the meantime.
You, my friend, are brave. By His grace, He has shaped you and molded you through His divine hand.
And I celebrate your bravery with you today. And anticipate what He’s going to be doing in you and through you as you continue down the path marked COURAGE.
Your words touch me and always encourage. God has created each of us to be brave and I’m not sure why most of the time our default thought is that we are not brave. I truly have been learning that saying “yes” and then moving out of the way gives God the go ahead to either make a way or close a door. It is not like me at all but it has been very freeing to lay it at God’s feet.
Thank you for saying I am brave. Sometimes we have to try words on for size. Brave fits me! 🙂 Love and hugs!
Such a beautiful, brave, testimony, Mary! and it’s yours! So proud of you, friend! Praising God for His tender and encouraging work in your life these past months. Have a blessed week!
Your words always touch and encourage me. I love being able to share what God is doing in my life especially if it can encourage someone else. I really am just like you, but I have gotten braver in sharing more of my life with all of you. Praying your week has been good and full of God moments.
Mary, I loved this post. I don’t consider myself a brave person either. One thing I’ve been praying this year is that God would help me to grow brave. Your words about how we sometimes see ourselves and our lives and how God sees us and our lives spoke life to my heart.
And this? “We are brave and when we embrace God’s truth rather than the voice of our “not enoughs”, God shows us over and over who we really are.” I LOVED it.
Thanks for sharing your journey about walking into brave. 🙂
Let me be the first to tell you that you are brave. I mean that sincerely. Even if you don’t see that in yourself, God most certainly does. Take it from someone who God has been working on for the last year. May we all say “yes”, move out of the way and let God take care of the rest on our own journeys to becoming brave.
Glad we are on this brave journey together. I would love to hear more about your own walk to becoming brave.
Brave! Fear with courage and all gifts from God.
Yes! Facing our fears and accepting what God has planned for us all along sounds like bravery to me. Thank you for being here and leaving me encouragement.
Tweeted this!
And it will be like a song to my heart for this busy day!
God give us grace to get out of your way!
Thank you Michele! You are such an encourager here and it blesses me every time you stop by. May we all seek God’s grace and move out of the way of this gift that He wishes to share with all of us. Happy Tuesday friend!