I wanna be Brave.

Often my most profound revelations come when I’m folding laundry, driving in the car, cleaning the endless crumbs from the kitchen counter or cooking dinner.  Ok.  Profound might be an overstatement, but I’d like to think God uses those narrow spaces of time when I’m engaged in the mundane tasks of my day to whisper truths into my ear.  Over time, those truths seep into my overactive brain, and marinate like the pork tenderloin for tonight’s dinner.

The tricky part is you have to remove the meaty insight from the mire of juicy liquid in order to feed your soul.  This requires margin to discern, pray, ponder, and then the courage to lay words across an electronic page for others to consume.

It’s a sticky business.  Requiring vulnerability, transparency and yes, bravery.

If I serve someone up a piece of fine meat, what happens if they’re a vegetarian, or they think my meat is overcooked?  Or worse yet, what if I flub up the recipe and receive bad reviews?

As I scoured the kitchen yesterday (honestly in an effort to avoid a deadline) God whispered to me about “being brave.”  Not much information.  Just a turn of phrase.  As I lay in bed later that night, “brave enough” flipped around in my head.  The second time in a day usually means there’s a lesson in there for me. And maybe for you?

Aren’t we all hungry for truth these days?

As I sit at the page today I am flooded with beautiful images of situations where we could step out and be brave.   And I heard in my head the echo of a song from the radio.  Turns out someone else had been singing this message in my ears for months, long before God whispered it to me in my dirty kitchen.

Each time I put fingers to keyboard, I feel somewhat brave.  Like recently, when I bared my soul about the struggles I’m having.   It’s a matter of knowing somewhere deep within that God is big enough to cover it all, and make a beautiful bounty from the fragments inside my heart and head.

It’s painfully hard at times to open your mouth and say the thing that needs saying.  If it wasn’t, we wouldn’t call it brave.  Bravery doesn’t just mean marching into battle with your sword drawn, ready to slay the enemy to save the Kingdom.

Bravery is saying what needs to be said.  Bravery is doing what no one else will do. Bravery is stepping out of your comfort zone.  Bravery is digging deep and pulling out long lost words that need to be heard.  Bravery is putting aside ego, in favor of truth.

Here’s what I’m hoping for me…and for you.

Will you be brave? 

  • Say “I’m sorry” even when you don’t feel like it.
  • Tell someone you love them, even if that’s “not what we do.”
  • Share a deep secret with someone you trust, in hopes of healing a dark place in your soul.
  • Tell your faith story to an unchurched friend.
  • Deliver a meal to a neighbor.
  • Step into a hard situation “you don’t have time for” and minister to someone in need.
  • Invite someone to church.
  • Join a bible study or small group.
  • Go on a date with your spouse, instead of always putting your kids first.
  • Write that letter you’ve been putting off.  The one on real paper, with real ink, with a real stamp.  Place in a real mailbox.
  • Apologize more.  Justify and rationalize less.
  • Make that appointment you’ve been meaning to make.
  • Speak the truth in love to a friend.  Help her get back on track.
  • Have that hard conversation with your teenager.
  • Set boundaries when you need.
  • Pray. Out loud.

And if you need encouragement, here’s what Sara Bareilles has been singing to me.

[reminder]What is your BRAVE? Add to my list! [/reminder] [youtube id=”xwTr_CRw3GY”]