Facing Fear

It’s crazy how fear can be the biggest roadblock in your life. Whether it’s the fear of speaking up, of standing your ground, of hurting others, of meeting new people, or just the fear of change—it can all hold you back. But here’s the thing: if you can just rip off that proverbial band-aid and face your fears, you might end up surprising yourself with what you can achieve.

People often ask me what keeps me going. Truthfully, it’s the determination not to let fear dictate my life. I want to teach my kids not to back down just because they feel afraid, just as I wanted my nieces to know there are no excuses for staying in your comfort zone only to end up miserable later on. Believe me, it hasn’t always been smooth sailing; my journey has had more bumps than a country road. Each challenge was a lesson I had to confront and learn from.

Perfection isn’t the goal here. It’s about striving for improvement and giving yourself grace when things don’t go perfectly. For me, prayer plays a crucial role. Though I’m not always in church on Sundays—life happens—prayer is a constant. I make it a point to pray during my morning drives, thanking God for the amazing things in my life. A lot of folks might not know this, but I was once in a very dark place and even attempted to take my own life. Being able to thank God for this second chance and for my beautiful, healthy family is something I’ll forever be grateful for.

Whenever uncertainty creeps in, I pray for guidance to stay on His path and for the courage not to sweat the small stuff. I’m not naïve—I know decisions must be made to get results. I just believe those results often come with a nudge in the right direction from above. Plus, if nothing else, figuring life out one prayer at a time offers fewer calories than stress-eating an entire cheesecake, right?

So what I’m trying to get to is this: my hope for you and for everyone is to have faith that you’ll conquer your biggest fears, as long as you keep putting one foot in front of the other. Just think of it as an epic journey—like Frodo’s, but with less jewelry and hopefully fewer orcs!