Courage, dear heart.

When I first started thinking about writing things for other people to read, I was (to be honest, I still am) completely terrified. I’ve written papers for school assignments for most of my life. I’ve written to students about their own writing and given gentle (hopefully) critique on how to make improvements. I’ve even written a book if you count my dissertation. But writing for an audience of people who are reading for pleasure is a whole new, shall I say it – genre. It is terrifying to me.

I know, I know – “I’m an English teacher”, you say. “You must know how to write”, you say. “You’re an avid reading, so you must know good writing.”

All those things are true. But it doesn’t change the fear and trepidation that comes from knowing that other people will read my thoughts. It’s the fear of being exposed and open to others that is so scary.

What if I am really awful? What if people don’t like what they read? Even worse, what if no one reads at all? All these fears can and will paralyze me – if I let them.

But . . .

What if I follow the leading that God has placed in my heart? Has He ever let me down? No. Has He ever failed me? No. Has he ever abandoned me? No. He is faithful. He is walking beside me. And with the peaceful calm that is always present in His voice He is saying, “Have courage, dear heart.”

So, here I am – having courage. Chasing the dream God has placed in my heart and trusting Him to be faithful once again in my life. As one of my favorite songs states, “He’s not done with me yet.” So I will continue to cling to Him and trust again.