Who’s standing beside you?

These two don’t look like anyone you’d want to meet in a dark alley. On a dance floor, yes! But anywhere else, you’d surely go running for the hills. This is my friend Regan Frizelle, standing with me at our HeartStories GNO 1st Birthday Bash, which we hosted 80’s Style with the help of Big D Party Rentals. The entire party was an invite for the ladies to get dressed up in their best/worst eighties garb, let their hair down, and have a great time. I was not at all surprised when this beautiful lady showed up rocking stirrup pants and a painted units top, complete with a lovely perm-on-top/straight-on-bottom mullet. It took courage.

And Regan has it, in spades.

But it’s not just the kind of courage you need to take a deep breath and jump off the high dive the first time. Regan practices a very different kind of courage consistently. She’s intentional, thoughtful, and generous with her courage. Like that night at GNO, she didn’t show up dressed like this just because it’s fun for her, although I know it is. She did it out of love for me and this encouraging community we’re creating for women . She showed up decked out in her 80’s fashion because she sees the vision. She knows where we’re headed and this was one way she could be a part of it that aligns so completely with her fun-loving, laughter-evoking personality.

That’s why I can’t believe I missed it, at first.

In our new Girls Night Out space, we get to host two distinct workshops in two separate spaces. As a result, we need a “hostess” to lead the ladies in each of the two rooms at the same time. So, while I’m interviewing our Featured Guest in one room, we need another strong woman leading in the other. My dear friend Libba has been dropping some serious wisdom-bombs during that portion of the night, and it’s been so easy. Such a perfect fit. But with recent changes in her responsibilities at work, she’s not available for all of our GNOs. As a result, I was scouring the interwebs, looking for the perfect person to lead us in a session on bravery and courage, to no avail. This person needed to get the vision of what we’re doing. She needed to embrace our mission fully. I needed to trust her wholeheartedly to be over to handover that microphone while I am in the other room. I was incessantly talking with Libba via text, about who else we know that we could seamlessly slide into that spot. It was hard to find that perfect person. Then, one night I opened a text from Libba . . .

All she sent was a picture of Regan.

YES! Of course! How did I not think of her?! Regan is exactly the right one to lead us in a session on courage. For all the reasons. On the outside, it may look like courage comes easily for her. She loves to meet new people and make them laugh! But as always, she learned that courage on the long, hard road. Her heart to bring joy, support and love to the lives of others comes from a lifetime of learning to cultivate those things in her own life. On top of that, since the first time we talked about my heart behind HeartStories, she’s been cheering me on. She gets it, on every level and she’s been standing beside me, all this time. We had a wonderful chat yesterday and y’all, I was laughing, I was tearing up, I was inspired. When it was over, I had courage burning in my gut.

Regan is THE perfect person for this role.

But I didn’t see it at first. I didn’t see it because I was looking “out there” beyond my immediate circle. I was looking for some polished presenter who already has a deck on bravery. I almost missed it because I didn’t look beside me.

Regan has been for me, and beside me, all along.

Whatever you’re going through today, if you’re looking for support, guidance, answers, and/or help in your life, look around you. Think outside of the context you think you’re looking for. The people who know you best love you most.