Do It Afraid--The Road Ahead is Beautiful

Well guys, it's here. The very last blog post. Excuse me, while I grab a few tissues. How can this be? Wow. Time goes by way too fast, and I just don't like it. I feel like it was just yesterday that I sat down and began to set up this blog from scratch, and now here I am writing my very last post. (The tears are streaming!)

So here we go...the very last blog post. Bear with me. It may be a little long! :)

Graduation! This Saturday? No way! Are you kidding? How can this be true?!?!

 It is so unbelievably crazy to me that it's time for us to graduate, say goodbye to this chapter of our stories, and say hello to something new. 

After writing the previous sentence, I thought to myself: "Wait, I've talked about this before!" So I scrolled though all 47 of my blog posts, and then I found it! The very first blog post...

If you recall...my first blog post (which was quite tiny, I might add!) was titled "Something New!" So I find it funny that here we are at my last blog post and I am talking about the same thing I began with. Wow, things really do come full circle sometimes, and I just love it when they do! It just shows how magnificent the Holy Spirit works! Anyways, in my first blog post I wrote, 

"We are given new adventures to shape us and to help us grow. Sometimes facing new things makes us nervous or scared, but it is so important that we remember that God only gives us what He knows we can handle. Our God is a Mighty God and He will walk with us through our storms and the new challenges we face. As we walk through this next year of school I think it is important that we remember that facing new things doesn't have to be scary because it's really just something new."

I believe that what I wrote back in 2017 still stays so true today. I especially find the last sentence to be extremely appropriate for us to remember as we approach college--a time of something new!

This something new can be both exciting and terrifying.

I'll be honest and say that for me it is more terrifying than exciting. I have a lot going through my head at this time, and I am sure you do, too! I have lots of fears about starting college some of which include not living at home anymore, forming new friendships, adjusting to a college schedule, finding my place, and fully understanding my new life as a college student. However, I am also excited about these things. I feel so blessed that I have made it this far, and that I am able to finally experience college! However, right now my fear is greater than my excitement. I think my main fear is that these things that I am excited about will be harder than I would like for them to be. I know it's confusing, but it's just a part of my process in starting something new. I worry, I fear, I get excited, and I anticipate whether or not I will let my excitement outweigh my fear. There is nothing worse than when you anticipate something you are excited about then it turns out to be so much more difficult than you had planned. It stinks. It really stinks. It is absolutely no fun, but I am hear today to tell you something that I think will help you put it all into reality: "do it afraid."

You all know how much I love Sadie Robertson's Whoa That's Good Podcast! Well, the other night I was laying in my bed, trying to sleep, and it just wasn't happening. I couldn't sleep. So...I decided I would pull up iTunes and listen to her podcast, and sure enough, after lots of scrolling and searching, I found one episode that wholly interested me: Fear, You Don't Own Me. I clicked play, closed my eyes, and began listening. Sadie was talking with Francesca Battistelli--one of my all time favorite artists--and she asked Francesca to share the best piece of advice she had ever been given. Francesca proceeded to say that the best piece of advice she had ever been given was to "do it afraid." 

I don't know about you, but that completely confused me! How am I supposed to do something afraid? Why would I want to do that? Is that even okay? That sounds awful! A lot of questions and concerns were running through my head at this point because I just didn't understand why anyone would follow someone's advice to "do it afraid." It just sounded so counterintuitive to me because we are always told to not let fear ever stop us, but Francesca was saying to stay fearful if necessary and do whatever it is that you are scared of afraid. I was thoroughly puzzled, but then Francesca said something that really put it all into perspective for me. In short, she said something similar to this, "Are we still going to feel feelings of fear from time to time in our life? Yes, that's just gonna happen. But the idea is that we can either let it own us and stop us and keep us from doing whatever it is that God is asking us to do or that we can choose to do it anyway...be scared and do it anyway...I just sort of looked fear in the face and I told it to go away...and I conquered it." 

I was solely immersed in her wisdom. I found it so profound and beautiful, and I immediately began to apply it to my own life and what I am about to experience. College terrifies me. It makes my stomach turn, my heart beat fast, it makes my palms sweat, and my hands shake. But after this podcast I realized something. I realized that I am just going to have to go onto that campus with butterflies fluttering in my stomach, my heart beating straight out of my chest, sweat dripping from my palms, and my hands shaking uncontrollably. I'm going to do it afraid. I am going to walk onto my college campus afraid because this is what God is asking me to do. God is asking me to embark on this journey, and I feel more than compelled to follow his plan. I have made the choice to look fear in the face and tell it that it can either go away or come with because either way I am doing this. 

Something Sadie says in this podcast is a quote from her mom which is, "You can have a million excuses as why not to do something, but fear will not be one that can stop you from doing it." I am always using the phrase "I'm scared" as an excuse to get me out of doing something. But after this podcast I have realized that it's okay to be scared. It is completely normal to be scared, but I cannot let it be a reason as to why I choose not to do something. I don't want to look back and ask myself why I didn't do something and then reply with, "Oh because I was just scared." I don't want fear to be a reason any longer that I don't accomplish something. I want to do it afraid, so that I can later look back on my life and see how incredibly confident and brave I was. 

The same goes for you. I want each and everyone of you to consider to start doing things afraid. When something makes you fearful, like college, tell yourself that you are going to do it afraid. I promise you it will be so worth it, and you will look back years from now and be so proud of yourself for allowing yourself to accomplish something that scared you. I have all the faith in each of you. The road ahead of you is so beautiful. God has carved a magnificent path ahead for you, and I am so excited to see it unfold! God's got you. He has so much amazing things in store for you. Lean in close, hear his whisper, and follow his way. Don't let fear be a blockade on your road to success. Push through it and let it know just how strong you are. You've got a rally of people behind you, sweet friend. You've got your family, friends, teachers, and most importantly, God, who loves you endlessly and will be with you every step of the way. But I want you to know that you will always have me. I am always just a phone call, email, or text away. Even though we may be separated. I am always here. 

Thank you for reading my blog these past couple of years and for loving me by doing so. I am forever grateful for this opportunity to share myself and the little wisdom and advice I have picked up along this crazy journey. It has been so fun and so rewarding. Thank you or letting me write and share my heart with you all. I feel so blessed. I want you to know that my blog will always be a place you can come when you need it. Save the link, and come visit it when you find yourself in need! I write for YOU, so Gracie's Grace will continue to be a place for YOU to come and feel at home!

Man oh man does God have something so beautiful in store for you! The future starts now! So get up and go! Keep your head up, march proudly, remember who loves you, and do it afraid. It may get a little scary out there, but God's got you. He's always got you, and that I am sure of. 

"Oh the places you'll go!"

I love you more than all the stars in the sky! Thank you for the best four years! I feel so beyond blessed! God is so, so good...

Have a happy week, a lovely Graduation, a beautiful summer, and the best life from here on out, but overall, stay faithful, friends! 

All the love always and forever, 

Gracie