Be You Bravely

from etsy

For a while you’ll wonder who “you” are. You’ll feel the tug of what your dad and I want “you” to be. And you’ll become aware of what a host of other people seem to want “you” to be, too. You’ll see so many options, the buffet of life, with anything possible but only enough time for a few of the best. You’ll watch friends make their choices and you’ll wonder if you should follow. You’ll start down a path and find it daunting or unfulfilling or foreboding and you’ll decide to turn back. Eventually you’ll get to wrestling with who God wants “you” to be. You’ll sit for a long while with your hands out for an answer and he’ll reach out and hold them while you both wait. And after a long time and all that difficult wondering, you’ll start to settle down and you’ll start to know.

As you sink into who “you” are, be you bravely. Whether your path takes you to new places or leaves you right where you are, be you bravely. When others find success and happiness in places that are not yours, be you bravely. When you are alone in your you-ness, be you bravely. When you catch a sneer or scorn being thrown your way, be you bravely. When you feel ordinary, be you bravely. When you are lucky enough to be truly “you”, be you bravely.