I stood in her kitchen eating a handful of candy corn and peanuts soaking up the encouragement she so easily handed out. I was avoiding the obvious and acting like my husband was not in fact in our van waiting for me to come back in the five minutes I had promised. My friend Lisa was our last stop on our way out of town. We were moving our little family south and I was picking up a box of maternity clothes that would be just what I needed for warmer weather.

“You are going to be fine. In fact, great.”

I teared up and she hugged me.

“Really? Do you think so?” I choked out.

“I know it.”

Lisa was helping me do the bravest thing I had ever done in my life. And she made all the difference in the world twelve years ago when I thought I couldn’t leave her kitchen and and start a new life in Florida.

I learned a valuable lesson that day:

Behind every brave girl is at least one friend who thinks she is brave.—even when she doesn’t believe it herself.

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I think you know what I’m talking about because I’m guessing you have at least one friend who has done the very same thing for you. It is just so easy to get swallowed up by the next thing coming down the road and forget why we are there in the first place. We need sisters to walk with us. Friends to tell us we are doing fine. And women who let you hide in their kitchen for a few minutes to gather the courage to walk out the door.

We all need that.

Girl. I need that right now. See, I have a few things coming down the road that look a whole lot like big scary monsters in my life. Oh, they aren’t really, but I am getting those same feelings I did when I was chomping on that candy corn at my friend’s house. It is super easy to avoid the calling when fear is crouched nearby.

But the calling can’t be avoided. Just like I knew it then, I know it now.

This Friday I’m going to send out a newsletter to anyone who wants to help me be brave over the next few months. You can have it delivered to your email by joining the Coffee Club. I’m going to ask a couple things from whoever opens that newsletter and reads it. So, if you are one of those girls who know a little about being brave herself, well, I’d love to make sure you get it. Just follow this link and you can sign up. If you are already part of the Coffee Club, then brave girl, I’m so grateful for you.

Thanks for being awesome.

xo,

Stacey

P.S. Can I help you be brave, too? What do you have coming down the road? I’l love to hear. Just leave a comment.