Have you ever felt frightened, like a bird stuck in a cage? I know I have because of fear. Fear held me back. I was hesitant to step forward. What if I step out and fail? A quote that came to mind that I have heard in the past and still love to this day. That quote is “What if I fall? Oh, my darling, but what if you fly?”
I have held onto this quote dearly. It’s true. What if I don’t fall and instead, I succeed? Realistically there is a chance I am going to fall. But everyone falls when they try something new. For example, babies learning to walk. Do babies give up learning how to walk after their first fall? No. If so, none of us would be walking or running.
Finding the courage to soar has not been easy. I had to rewire my belief system in order to step into something new. “Out with the old, in with the new.” It was scary and I sacrificed a lot. I don’t regret coming out of the cage. I wish I would have done it sooner.
My cage was a known territory and I was comfortable. For me, soaring meant I would have to leave the cage and not come back. Because of fear, It took multiple tries to leave the cage. I am reminded of the bible verse that says: As a dog returns to its vomit, so fools repeat their folly. Proverbs 26:11
Is it foolish to return to the cage? Yes! We are programmed to come back when something seems scary. By the grace of God and with His help, I mustered up the courage to not look back. God blessed me with a community, His word, and His strength to have the courage to soar.
Beloved, will you be courageous enough to soar?
Dayana Shiplett 