“Life shrinks or expands

in proportion to one’s courage.”

Anais Nin

On Monday night, I spoke at a women’s event at my church, which was such a sweet homecoming for me. I talked about courage, and what it means – to me – to be a person of courage.

Courage comes from the Latin word “cor,” meaning “heart.”

I believe we all want to be people of the heart. We don’t want to be marking time, living in survival mode, eeking life out. We want to be flourishing, living from a very awake and alive heart. We want to live from the broad grace, the expanse, the spacious place.

This requires courage.

Mainly because many of us carry chaos inside us that is unresolved. This chaos creates a level of discomfort, dis-ease. When we hit up against the raw places inside us, we have a choice: numb or respond.

It takes courage to respond. It takes courage to feel. It takes courage to put our phones down and look up at the world. It takes courage to get up off the couch.

It takes courage to make one small step in the right direction.

We get stymied because we assume acts of courage are sweeping declarations or 180-degree resolutions when, I believe, courage is really about taking the very next step in front of us.

When we take that next right step, our one part courage is met with a thousand parts God’s grace. And we can make a long journey that way. One little step at a time.

I’ve seen this truth in my own life. Transformation happens in small steps of courage. One after the other.

Is there a next step in your life that God’s been nudging you to consider? Seeing a doctor. Going to a meeting. Calling that friend. Acknowledging a desire. Surrendering a dream. Taking a prayer walk. Meeting with a counselor. Signing up for a group.

Could you, in an act of courage, turn toward that next step today?

We come into contact with our own discomfort. We respond by taking one small step. We believe (even in our unbelief) that our small step of courage will be met with God’s limitless grace. And we find that we can make a long journey one incremental step at a time.

I believe in you.