"You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face," said Eleanor Roosevelt. "You must do the thing which you think you cannot do."
Think back. When did you look fear in the face? When did you do the thing you thought you could not do?
And what can your memoir teach your kids, grandkids, and other readers about taking a wild-eyed, white-knuckled leap of faith?
Think back. When did you look fear in the face? When did you do the thing you thought you could not do?
And what can your memoir teach your kids, grandkids, and other readers about taking a wild-eyed, white-knuckled leap of faith?
Read the quotes below, slowly, and pause as long as it takes
to rediscover personal stories they revive, incidents you might have forgotten
long ago.
“The jump is so frightening between where I am and where I
want to be…
Because of all I may become
I will
Close my eyes
And leap!”
(Mary Anne Rachmacher)
“And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was
more painful than the risk it took to blossom.” (Anais Nin)
“You can’t test courage cautiously.” (Annie Dillard)
“I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the
triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who
conquers that fear.” (Nelson Mandela)
“Courage is contagious. When a brave young man takes a
stand, the spines of others are stiffened.” (Billy Graham)
“Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s courage.” (Anais Nin)
What stories do these quotes bring to mind?
What courageous thing have you done? Perhaps when you
triumphed over fear, others watched. Or maybe you looked fear in the face and
took action, even though no one else ever knew about your bravery. Was Anais
Nin right? Did your life expand in proportion to your courage?
On the other hand, perhaps some of these quotes reminded you
of a time you refused to take that leap, when you remained tight in a bud and chose
not to blossom. Was Anais Nin right? Did your life shrink in proportion to your
lack of courage?
Looking back now, whether you took that courageous leap of
faith or not, what did you learn from your choice?
How did God help you? As a result, in what ways did your
relationship with God change?
What Bible verses pertain to your story?
How did you change as a result of your experience?
Did you do things differently in the future?
What valuable lessons can you pass on to others?
Write your stories! Why? Because your children,
grandchildren, and other readers will face situations in which their courage
and faith are wobbly. Your story could make all the difference in their
outcomes.
