Personal Life Coach for Women

Christian life coaching principles of interest to women

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Location: Cary, North Carolina, United States

MDiv, CBC, Certified Christian Life Coach

Wednesday, July 09, 2008

Risks and Rewards

As a life coach, I have the privilege of helping women go after their dreams in life. That’s not always easy because sometimes to follow a dream or a heart passion, you have to leave the comfortable and familiar behind. Reminds me of the words the Lord spoke to Abram,
"Leave your country, your people and your father's household and go to the land I will show you." How many of us would drop everything, leave our family, our jobs, even our country to follow the call of God? Yet, Abram left, not knowing exactly where he was going, but with a promise that he would be blessed and all the nations of the earth would be blessed through him launched out to unknown. I wonder what would have happened if he hadn't left? Certainly, history would have been written differently.

It seems to me that a life that is really worth living is a life that is willing to take some risks to leave the familiar, the safe and even the comfortable behind. Several years ago, my niece started graduate school and it was a huge step for her. It was huge because she totally left the familiar, her home, her state and her friends to embark on a new journey. She even had an apartment by herself in a strange town. My sister would tell me that those first months were rough with my niece calling and crying over the phone saying “what in the world was I thinking”? Ever been there? Fortunately, the end of this story is great one. I am proud to say that my niece not only graduated with her masters and top of her class, but totally loved her last two years there! It was a life changing experience!

The truth is, without risks there is really nothing gained. In 1992, Gail Devers ran 100 meters in 10.82 seconds to win the Olympic gold medal for the 100 meter dash. A year prior to this achievement, she could barely walk. In 1990, she was diagnosed with Graves' disease. During her radiation treatments, she received too much radiation and experienced serious side effects. In fact, the doctors told her that if she had walked two more days both of her feet would have been amputated. They immediately made some changes with her treatment and by March of 1991, she returned to the track. When she entered the Olympic track stadium in 1992, she prayed, "God, help me run the race of my life." God answered her prayer. "If you have a problem and you are about to give up," Devers said, "think of me". "Last year, I couldn't walk. Now, I've got a gold medal for running. The last three years of my life have definitely been a miracle."

Life is an incredible adventure and there are no doubt all kinds of provisions and miracles waiting for us, if we will just "carpe diem" (seize the day) and dare to step out into the unknown. Harry Emerson Fosdick said, "It is cynicism and fear that freeze life; it is faith that thaws it out, releases it, sets it free." Maybe you and I don't need to leave our country like Abraham did, but maybe we do need to get off the sideline of life and jump in, take a risk. When we dare to leave the familiar and comfortable behind, I believe we begin to live a life that is really worth living. When we step out in faith, all kinds of doors and opportunities open to us that we never dreamed possible. We can look back over our lives like Gail Devers and say, wow, didn't we experience the miraculous?!

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