Okay..so this isn't me, it's my husband - but you get the idea. Are YOUR armpits itching yet?!
Here's what I've got so far in the way of excuses:1. If I do this said "action" (which is not being revealed for security purposes of my livelihood) I will not have the chance to interact with as many people throughout the week.
2. I will lose the relationships I have so lovingly created at this "said place."
3. My husband and I will have to live a little tighter in the money region of our lives unless I am able to bump up my graphic design freelance activities.
4. I won't be able to bump up my graphic design freelance activities.
5. I will become a hermit who watches old Cosby episodes by day and yearns for human interaction by night while my husband goes out into the "real" world and brings home the bread.
6. Heaven forbid...I will have to earn a new clientele and build new relationships and new credibility and new self esteem in a way, because all that I have built up at "said place" will be non-existent.
Okay...that's limiting enough. And now for something completely different! I will address each excuse with the ever-present truth that lives within me (aka my crack at a Godly perspective) and let's see where we end up.
1. If I do this said "action" (which is not being revealed for security purposes of my livelihood) I will not have the chance to interact with as many people throughout the week.
Actually, it is me who has complete control over how many people I interact with throughout my week, not my circumstances. If I want to meet more people, why not go to a cafe or a coffee shop or the grocery store or the bank or the gas station or the library...the list goes on. People are everywhere. All I need to do is get off my butt and go meet them!
2. I will lose the relationships I have so lovingly created at this "said place."
For each loving relationship I have so lovingly created I have a lovely phone number to go with it (and if I don't yet, then I can get it before "said action" takes place.) Would it really kill me to rely upon purposeful interactions with these individuals instead of the "oh, I just happened to run into you so I'll talk to you" method??? I think not.3. My husband and I will have to live a little tighter in the money region of our lives unless I am able to bump up my graphic design freelance activities.
In all actuality we can handle living a little "tighter." The truth of the matter is there are a lot of people out there who survive on a lot less than what we would have even if I am not able to bump up my graphic design freelance activities. Which leads me to my next point...
4. I won't be able to bump up my graphic design freelance activities.
The only reason I haven't been able to bump up my graphic design freelance activities is because I've been too busy with "said action" to actively pursue these activities!! Problem solved.
5. I will become a hermit who watches old Cosby episodes by day and yearns for human interaction by night while my husband goes out into the "real" world and brings home the bread.
Again...I control the amount of "hermitishness" I become NOT the "hermitishness" (yes, I will say my made up word again!) controlling me. God put us on this earth to interact with each other (and, I believe, to also watch a Cosby episode here and there) and I will not let this change take away my ability to interact with others.
6. Heaven forbid...I will have to earn a new clientele and build new relationships and new credibility and new self esteem, because all that I have built up at "said place" will be non-existent.
This is the point of life! To create "new clientele," "new relationships" and "new credibility" at every turn; to have my self esteem based upon the rock that is Jesus (how He loves us!) and not what others might think of me. God did not put us on this earth to be comfortable, but to GO and love all types of people. Truth be known, I am using this "said place" that I am tied down to now as a scapegoat...something to cowardly rely on...because I am scared to have to create my own relationships from scratch. (or "from a scratch" as my sweet little second cousin would say) It's okay to be scared, but it's not okay to let my fear control my actions. No way. No how.
Hokay...I don't know about you, but at the conclusion of all of this a few phrases come to mind.
"Man up, Bambi!!"
"Just do it."
"Everyting will be ahrighy!" (my attempt to spell out how the Jamaicans say "Everything will be all right")
It's true. Everything will be all right if I just do it and man up, Bambi! I'm not saying my fear of change is gone. All I'm saying is that it should not be my focus in this matter of life. In fact, even as I contemplate what to type next and the consequences of those typings, my stomach is in knots and I feel the worry creeping up my backbone. Lord, only YOU can help me overcome this doubt. Only YOU can give me the strength to shut the mouths of these lions as you did for Daniel (Daniel 6:10-23).
I WILL pass through this turning point in my life and come out on the other side...armpits itching and all!
Moral of the Story: No matter what fears you face, our God is bigger, and if you seek His guidance you will find the courage to do what you knew you needed to do all along.
