Learning to Show Up Before You Feel Ready
Here's something I've been thinking about lately. Maybe it's something you need too. 🌿
This morning, Bailey and I walked to the mailbox again.
As usual...
He wasn't in a hurry.
I was.
But this morning, I wasn't thinking about work.
I was thinking about fear.
Not the kind of fear that makes headlines.
The quieter kind.
The kind that whispers...
"What if you aren't good enough?"
"What if you're too late?"
"What if someone else can say it better?"
If I'm honest...
I've spent more years listening to those questions than I'd like to admit.
For most of my life, I stayed quiet.
Not because I didn't have ideas.
Not because I didn't care.
But because I was afraid of drawing attention to myself.
Afraid someone would think I was bragging.
Afraid I'd get it wrong.
Afraid I wasn't enough.
Looking back...
I regret that.
Not because I ever wanted attention.
But because I muted parts of myself that might have encouraged someone else.
Today, the main way I know how to help people is by sharing.
Through writing.
Through reflection.
Through the lessons life continues to teach me.
And even now...
Showing up doesn't always feel natural.
Sometimes I still wonder...
"Hasn't someone already said this?"
"What if I'm too late?"
"What if I'm not qualified enough?"
Then I remember something simple.
Even if someone else has lived a similar story...
They haven't lived mine.
If I write it...
It's still mine.
My voice.
My experience.
My lesson.
And maybe...
That's exactly what someone else needs.
I think many of us were raised to stay quiet.
Don't draw attention.
Don't make a fuss.
Don't stand out.
So when God begins asking us to use our voice...
It can feel uncomfortable.
Not because we're doing something wrong.
Because we're doing something unfamiliar.
The road has taught me something about that.
You don't always have complete clarity before you begin moving.
Sometimes you simply take the next mile...
And trust you'll see a little farther as you go.
Maybe faith works that way too.
For a long time...
I lived in what I now call...
"The season of almost enough."
Almost ready.
Almost brave enough.
Almost knowledgeable enough.
Almost the right time.
But "almost" has a way of keeping us standing still.
I'm beginning to believe God isn't asking me to be perfect.
He's simply asking me to be willing.
Maybe that's one reason those little walks down the driveway started meaning so much to me.
They slowed me down long enough to notice some of the fears I'd carried for years...
And gently reminded me that they didn't have to decide where I went next.
🌿 What I'm Learning
I used to think courage meant feeling ready.
Now I think courage sometimes means taking the next step before you have everything figured out.
I don't have to wait until I'm completely confident.
I don't have to know everything.
I don't have to be the best person talking about something.
And I don't have to wait until the fear disappears.
Sometimes I just have to be willing to move anyway.
The mailbox didn't change.
The driveway didn't change.
I did.
And I'm learning that fear often gets a little quieter once I begin moving.
Maybe yours will too.
☀️ BRENDA'S BEACONS
The little lights I'm finding along the way.
A Verse for This Journey
"For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind."
— 2 Timothy 1:7
Something to Take With You
Maybe there's something you've been waiting to do until you feel ready.
A conversation.
A change.
A new idea.
Something you want to create.
Something you want to learn.
A place you feel called to show up.
Maybe you've been telling yourself:
Later.
When I know more.
When I'm more confident.
When I'm less afraid.
When the timing is better.
But maybe you don't need all of that before you begin.
Ask yourself:
What would I take one small step toward today if I stopped waiting to feel completely ready?
You don't have to know where the whole road leads.
Sometimes you just need enough courage for the next mile.
Fear can come along for the ride. It just doesn't get to drive. ☀️
Still Choosing You
I'm slowly writing Still Choosing You, where I'll share more about learning to choose faith, marriage, purpose, hope, and ourselves through life's changing seasons.
I'm not writing it because I've mastered those things.
I'm writing it because I'm still learning them too.
Along the Way
If you'd like to keep exploring what we're building and sharing:
☀️ Brenda's Beacons — Personal reflections, recommendations, and the little lights I'm finding along the way.
🚚 Life on the Axles — Real work, real roads, and lessons from towing, auto transport, and small business.
🌾 Life on the Acres — Real stories from home, the land, projects, country living, marriage, and ordinary life on our little piece of land.
📚 Helpful Resources — Things we've used, learned from, created, and found helpful along the way.
🛒 Amazon Storefront — Browse the books, tools, everyday favorites, and things we actually use and recommend from the road, around the acres, and along the way.
🎬 Along the Way — Watch the everyday pieces of life behind Axles & Acres, from the road to the acres and everywhere in between.
If something here helped you today, you're always welcome to subscribe to Axles & Acres or share it with someone who might need the same little light along the way.
Just a little note from me: I share faith, health, work, and life here from my own experience and understanding. Nothing I write is intended to replace medical or professional advice, pastoral guidance, or your own study of Scripture. I'm simply sharing what I'm learning and what has helped me along the way, in case some of it helps you too.
Disclosure: Some links on this website may be affiliate links, which help support Axles & Acres at no additional cost to you. We only recommend products, tools, and resources that have genuinely earned a place in our lives. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.
