That’s ok…I think I’ll be happier right here. None of us escape having to step outside our comfort zone every now and then. However, the older you get, the easier it becomes to stick with the status quo. But as my children were entering the middle school years, I began to feel a tug toward something new.
One thing you should know about me: I love my public schools, and I am involved with them. When my daughter started public school in first grade, I joined the PTA and filled a position on the PTA Board. It was the first of many to come. Even as my kids have grown up and graduated college, the strength of our public schools still matters deeply to me.
However, back to those middle school days. When my children started middle school, I decided to work from home, and it opened up greater flexibility in my schedule. So when I was asked to consider the position of PTA President at my children’s school, I said, “Yes.”
A Step Toward Something New
But then something terrifying happened, my involvement expanded. As I became more engaged at both the campus and district level, I began to feel a pull toward a role much bigger than I ever had imagined.
For more than a year, I looked at the School Board and wished it wasn’t an elected position. I mean, who in their right mind would want to run for public office? For sure, not me! While I enjoy leadership, I felt like I was too private a person for something like that.
And then God began speaking loud and clear — not audibly, mind you — but rather through friends in different circles of my life, sermons, Bible studies, and conversations with my family.
The pull on my heart and mind was unmistakable. I knew God was calling me to take a step of faith outside my comfort zone. Of course, much like I’ve handled other big steps in my life, I hesitated and questioned. Not smart, I know, but the truth.
While I lacked faith in myself, I trusted God, and I was at a point in this journey where I knew a failure to move forward was an act of willful disobedience.
Growth happens outside your comfort zone
I look back now and give thanks for many small blessings: my political naiveté, somewhat limited and not overly nasty (this was 2012) social media, and my daughter’s refreshing perspective. There was not a step in the process I could have taken without my husband’s support, and he offered it at every turn.
When it came time to tell my children, though, it somehow started to feel more “real.” They were then in 8th and 9th grade at the time. However, as I shared my plans, fears, and concerns about the process, my daughter’s response was this: What’s the worst thing that can happen? You might lose; so what.
So what, indeed. Stepping out in acts of faith often isn’t about the end result but the process of obedience. Before I said “yes” to God, I also said “no,” “not yet,” and a lot of “but what-ifs.”
I look back now and am so thankful for the experience. It was a moment of Godly obedience that transformed me personally and professionally.
When I get scared by a feeling of God calling me to something new, my school board journey is one of the experiences I like to remember. It was a “get out of the boat” moment for me and has become a touchpoint of my faith.
So what about you? Where do you feel God pushing you past your comfort zone?
More importantly, are you willing to say, “Yes, Lord!”?
God is Calling; Are You Ready to Listen?
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