Think of the last time you started something new.
Or the last time you made a change by saying goodbye to stability and hello to uncertainty.
Do you remember how suddenly that brought on a barrage of questions from wonderful, well-meaning people trying to help you put some clarity and definition on your new journey?
For example, start a new relationship, and you’ll likely be met with loving probes like, ‘Is it serious? What’s next?’ Decide to relocate or change careers, and watch how swiftly the questions of ‘Why this? Why now? What about stability?’ emerge. And don’t be surprised if a new hobby or heartfelt pursuit prompts your family to earnestly ask, ‘How does this fit into your life?’ or ‘What’s the financial upside to this new endeavor?’
In a world fixated on defining every category of life so it fits neatly in a box, why not take a different approach? What if the true beauty lies in allowing things to unfold organically, free from the constraints of labels and expectations? What if we gave ourselves permission to explore without an IKEA-like manual or knowing the step-by-step plan?
Twelve years ago, I felt an unexplainable pull to start making bracelets with words that remind people that there is always hope. A perfectly good guest bedroom was ruined with leather dye, glue, and passion. I had no idea where it was all going, and frankly, it didn’t matter. People would ask me what I was going to do with all of the cuffs I was making, and I would simply say, “I don’t know yet, but I have a feeling I will know as I go.”
Looking back, it was never about the bracelets.
It was about following a call, a desire to create, that I couldn’t ignore.
Had I tried to define what it was initially, I might have stifled all that lay ahead.
Not everything needs to make sense to be worth pursuing.
It’s often the inexplicable, the undefined, that holds the most potential.
You know yourself and the desires within you better than any bystander.
It is often better if you don’t have it all perfectly defined.
It leaves open the possibilities for God to do something extraordinary beyond what you could have ever planned for yourself.
So, what’s your ‘bracelet’?
What’s that thing you feel so drawn to, even if it doesn’t make sense to anyone else? That thing inside you that’s calling out, demanding to be heard.
Don’t squash it.
Don’t ignore it.
Don’t label it.
Don’t let the world’s expectations define it.
Wrap your arms around it.
Trust that the next step is revealed only after taking the first.
Don’t let the pressure to define and control everything rob you of the joy of discovery.
Because life’s most extraordinary experiences often begin with a single, nonsensical step.
You will know as you go.
