Stepping outside of my comfort zone has never been my strong suit. While I always admired those who possessed the confidence and faith to jump right into a new situation, the few times I attempted such bravery ended in disaster. So, I learned it was safer to be an observer, tentatively dipping a toe in to test the waters before risking full immersion.
This irrational fear, however, nearly kept me from becoming an author. I became so cautious and afraid of failure that when the idea for my first novel, The Perfect Blindside, came to me, I was tempted to forget the whole crazy notion. Luckily the compelling urge to write this story was strong. I secretively began to write, not telling anyone—not even my family or closest friends. What if my story was terrible? What if I was a horrible writer? Failure was one thing, but having everyone knowing I had not succeeded, would be far worse.
That’s when I turned to prayer, for if this was God’s plan, then I knew it would somehow work out. With each tentative step of the process, I gathered the courage to continue. Despite a few roadblocks which led me down a different path, I continued to pray and persevere. I’ll forever be grateful for the grace God gave me to face my fears because publishing that first book completely changed my life.
My writing has become a ministry; I’ve met so many new friends and acquaintances, I helped created CatholicTeenBooks, and my faith deepened. None of that would have happened if I hadn’t followed that little niggling from God. So, here’s my encouragement to you: don’t let fear keep you from answering God’s call in your life. If you trust in the Lord, challenging the boundaries of your comfort zone can lead to something truly amazing and wonderful.