This story comes from the lips of two adults watching a little girl twirling on ice. Eventually she skates to the edge of the rink near where they stand watching. “You are so beautiful and so graceful out there,” they exclaim. “How do you do it?”

 

“You just have to be brave,” says the little girl as she skates away.

 

You just have to be brave.

 

“You don’t have to read books just at your grade level,” someone said to a friend of mine when she was a little girl. She had thought she was only allowed just to read in the first/second grade level, the grade level she was in at the time. “I don’t? Then what can I do?”

 

You just have to be brave enough to try something harder. 

 

Always keep trying.

 

You don’t have to be grasping or self-centered, always worried whether there will be enough money to pay the bills. 

 

You just have to be brave enough to do your best, trust God to provide what you cannot, set aside a little money from each check, and give some back to him and to others in need. 

 

Always keep trusting.

 

You don’t have to let the fear of being a failure shape your present or your future.

 

You just have to be brave enough to embrace your life with arms wide open, to smile through the tears when you fall, and get up again. 

 

Always get up again. 

 

You don’t have to be an apology, an inferior human being, always making excuses for not being a better person.

 

You just have to be brave enough to open your hands, to be vulnerable, to accept the amazing transforming power of God’s agape love. 

 

Always practice his presence.

 

Life is meant to be a sacred journey. 

 

Always. 

 

You just have to be brave.

 

“Trust the Lord! Be brave and strong and trust the Lord.” ~ Psalm 27:14 CEV