The more courage you exhibit, the more compassion you are able to access.
I had the weirdest thought a month or so ago...before I launched this beautiful blooming dream of a business. I was listening to a podcast and the guest was asked by the host...
"If you could have told yourself at 23 when you wrote your first book about the success of your 43 year old self...what would you have said?"
The guest said that at 23 she would have never believed what God had brought to her in those 20 years. That is was unfathomable. The thought never came to her mind that she would write dozens of books, write bible studies, star in movies, be on stages across the world...she would have never believed it. But she took one step and a leap of faith and wrote a book at 23. She listened to God and look what He did with her obedience. It is unfathomable.
So...it got me thinking about my own life. About my life at 23. About my dreams then and what I hoped for. And it honestly brought me to tears because it convicted me. At 23, Zach and I had just married. I dreamed of a future with Zach and a great marriage. I dreamed of babies and being a mother. I have always wanted a small house that I could decorate just how I liked. I dreamed of having 2 dogs...one big and one small and they would be best buds (some dreams die...thank goodness...one dog is enough). I dreamed but my dreams were so small.
Never in my dreams did I factor in failure or risk. I didn't have to worry about that....the dreams I had were so attainable...they were so safe. They were good dreams...those dreams became my life, honestly. I have a beautiful marriage, amazing kids and quaint home decorated the cozy way I like it. I have everything I ever dreamed of and that is where the conviction came in.
We grow when we fail. We grow when our dreams have to be worked really hard for and risk is involved.
Thinking about times that I have truly grown in my life all involve failure and picking myself back up again. Jumping out and praying to be caught...but trusting that even if I fall...one day I would fly. It doesn't mean you don't jump.
"The more courage you exhibit, the more compassion you are able to access." -Jessica Honnegar
Courage is not doing hard things without fear. Courage is moving forward even though you are terrified, but you still move. You still jump.
8 years ago, almost to date, Zach and I lost our 2nd child to a devastating miscarriage. That was not part of my dreams. When I envisioned motherhood, I did not see death or empty hands and a breaking heart. It took courage daily to wake up another day knowing that the child I carried would never breathe in this world. Losing Oliver forced me to trust, to believe that everything would be ok, that this sweet baby was better in heaven than with me...and with the heartbreak came the most tangible, unbelievable amount of compassion. Where there is courage, there is compassion.
Fast forward to last year. We sent our sweet Evan to kindergarten. Evan has some delays behaviorally and just a total lack of motivation. It is his world a we are just in it. I have struggled. Mothering can be one tough day after another and you just don't see the light. Evan is the most amazing kid but he is also so very tough. I have to beg for courage often mothering him and failure is daily. But this past year, God had opened my eyes and my heart so much to others and to Evan. Where there is courage...moving forward even though you are terrified...there is always compassion and isn’t compassion what we all need to grow in just a little any way?
Do you ever look back and you can see the hand of God? You can see exactly where He was in the good and bad times or right where He was leading you down a road that has gotten you where you are today? Do you have any experiences that you have had to move forward in courage and you have come out on the other side more compassionate?
"If you could have told yourself at 23 when you wrote your first book about the success of your 43 year old self...what would you have said?"
The guest said that at 23 she would have never believed what God had brought to her in those 20 years. That is was unfathomable. The thought never came to her mind that she would write dozens of books, write bible studies, star in movies, be on stages across the world...she would have never believed it. But she took one step and a leap of faith and wrote a book at 23. She listened to God and look what He did with her obedience. It is unfathomable.
So...it got me thinking about my own life. About my life at 23. About my dreams then and what I hoped for. And it honestly brought me to tears because it convicted me. At 23, Zach and I had just married. I dreamed of a future with Zach and a great marriage. I dreamed of babies and being a mother. I have always wanted a small house that I could decorate just how I liked. I dreamed of having 2 dogs...one big and one small and they would be best buds (some dreams die...thank goodness...one dog is enough). I dreamed but my dreams were so small.
Never in my dreams did I factor in failure or risk. I didn't have to worry about that....the dreams I had were so attainable...they were so safe. They were good dreams...those dreams became my life, honestly. I have a beautiful marriage, amazing kids and quaint home decorated the cozy way I like it. I have everything I ever dreamed of and that is where the conviction came in.
We grow when we fail. We grow when our dreams have to be worked really hard for and risk is involved.
Thinking about times that I have truly grown in my life all involve failure and picking myself back up again. Jumping out and praying to be caught...but trusting that even if I fall...one day I would fly. It doesn't mean you don't jump.
"The more courage you exhibit, the more compassion you are able to access." -Jessica Honnegar
Courage is not doing hard things without fear. Courage is moving forward even though you are terrified, but you still move. You still jump.
8 years ago, almost to date, Zach and I lost our 2nd child to a devastating miscarriage. That was not part of my dreams. When I envisioned motherhood, I did not see death or empty hands and a breaking heart. It took courage daily to wake up another day knowing that the child I carried would never breathe in this world. Losing Oliver forced me to trust, to believe that everything would be ok, that this sweet baby was better in heaven than with me...and with the heartbreak came the most tangible, unbelievable amount of compassion. Where there is courage, there is compassion.
Fast forward to last year. We sent our sweet Evan to kindergarten. Evan has some delays behaviorally and just a total lack of motivation. It is his world a we are just in it. I have struggled. Mothering can be one tough day after another and you just don't see the light. Evan is the most amazing kid but he is also so very tough. I have to beg for courage often mothering him and failure is daily. But this past year, God had opened my eyes and my heart so much to others and to Evan. Where there is courage...moving forward even though you are terrified...there is always compassion and isn’t compassion what we all need to grow in just a little any way?
Do you ever look back and you can see the hand of God? You can see exactly where He was in the good and bad times or right where He was leading you down a road that has gotten you where you are today? Do you have any experiences that you have had to move forward in courage and you have come out on the other side more compassionate?
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