Yesterday I had a mama moment of feeling overwhelmed. I was feeling the weight of all I’m needing to accomplish with HeartStories, and how little time there seems to be to get it all done, while also being a full-time mother to my boys and giving my marriage the attention it deserves. Sometimes, fear creeps in and I’m tempted to believe I can’t do it all, at least not well.
But my belief in my calling is bigger than my fear.
I love the story of Joan of Arc. She was a peasant girl in medieval France who believed God had chosen her to lead France to victory in the war with England. At the age of 18, with no military training, Joan convinced the crown prince Charles of Valois to allow her to lead a French army to the besieged city of Orléans, where they achieved historic victory.
But that’s not the best part.
The best part is the behind-the-scenes bits and pieces we can put together by the things Joan said. She shared that when she was 13, she first felt God leading her in what she should do. . . and she was afraid. History books don’t tell us much about that. In fact, her most famous quote says that she’s not afraid.
I am not afraid. I was born for this. ~ Joan of Arc
That quote by itself, skips the journey.
It skips all the times she acted in trembling, believing God would act because he had called her to do this. It misses the dark hours when the battle was more difficult than she could have imagined and questioned everything, but she kept showing up anyway.
I believe it was on those days, she learned to not be afraid.
It’s the same for us. When we face our fears, our disappointments, our feelings of inadequacy, and do the thing we know we’re meant to do anyway, when we keep showing up. . .
We become less afraid.
I want to encourage you today that when you’re feeling overwhelmed, doing what you know you’re meant to do, or questioning your ability to do it all and do it well. . . keep showing up.
Keep showing up, until you become less afraid.
I believe that’s the only way you learn to say with conviction:
I am not afraid. I was born for this.
to more love,
Crystal
