Life is filled with crossroads. Those that overthink the route get stuck at the fork or find themselves constantly backtracking their steps and changing their routes. Those who hold courage close, take the road that beckons them and never looks back. The blinding burden of regret and self-doubt cannot attach itself to them for they have made a decision that is irreversible: they have decided to speak up and show up for life.
There’s a moment in your story where you decide how you will live. You decide if you will show up or shrink back. Your choice charts the course of your years to come. It lays the foundation of the legacy you will leave, so what will you choose?
I have stood at many crossroads – and though the decision of direction may sometimes seem daunting, if you have made a decision for life, that is, for a life of courage and contribution, then you will always know which route to go. The intersections of my life, as with everything in retrospect, appear clear-cut, but they were chaotic and crazy in the moment, and when you find yourself at such a point of fog concerning your future, do whatever you can to get clear. Push back the fear and deflate the indecision by reminding yourself that shrinking back is not an option for you anymore – showing up is your modus operandi.
The decisions to show up aren’t always easy, and are often painful. I thought my heart would never heal and I would never dare trust again when I left my first love in order to save myself from his addiction and abuse – but I chose to stop hiding in the shadows that he kept me in. I was trapped in the darkness of perfectionism and an eating disorder for decades and I never thought I would find the freedom to live differently – but I chose to step out of my comfort zone of control and to give the world more of my heart by letting myself be vulnerable and open in the healing process. I felt abandoned by God when my worst fear happened and I woke up to a stranger strangling me in a dark hotel room – but I chose to be obsessed with being victorious rather than being a victim and that horrific night changed my mindset for the better. I felt anxious when I left my six-figure career to launch my own entrepreneurial endeavors – but I chose to show up for my calling and trust that God would provide the people who I was destined to serve and love on. And in all these crossroads, the pain seared into me a beautiful emotional scar – a reminder to myself of my internal strength and of my commitment to life. I spent too many years playing small, shrinking myself and overthinking life, and for every crossroad I boldly and confidently move through, I gift myself a little healing on the opportunities of my past my distraction might have caused me to miss.
I don’t know what your crossroads look like, or what decisions are weighing heavily on your heart, but I do know that terrifying feeling of not being sure what to do as you gaze upon the potential routes before you, and I know this: always choose to show up. Don’t listen to the whispers of doubt or the what ifs; instead, step out and believe that you are not on this journey alone. The more you choose to show up, the more courage you will have to continue, and, even when you need to reroute your decisions, you will have the confidence to know that you can keep going and that any misstep actually serves your growth along the journey. God made you to contribute in great ways and with great love to this world. He did not create you to shrink back, but to shine, so shine on and may your next crossroad create a bright light of courage as you press on in your story.