I have always been afraid of new things. Don’t get me wrong, there are exciting things that happen when something is new. For instance, a new baby, a new home, a new car, a new job. It is the unfamiliar I am scared about. It is the “What if’s” and self-doubt that creeps in my head trying to convince myself that being comfortable is better.

Just take a look around my home and you will see many, many “new” books. Only a few of them are finished. Many still have the bookmark or the folded corner of a page where I last left off until life got in the way and comfortable set in. My husband trying to get me to try “new” foods is futile. Diet and exercise programs? Forget that! You mean I have to get off my comfy couch, put away my Cheetohs and sweat on a treadmill for 30 minutes?? For me to try anything new it takes an act of Congress (and we all know how well they are doing).

This blog is one thing I am new at. Already, four days in and I am hearing the voices in my head telling me, “You’re not going to get anyone to follow you,” “You can’t keep up the pace of writing every day,” “How are you going to keep in touch with followers if you get any?” It is a constant struggle in my head.

A few years ago we were taking a cruise to the Western Caribbean and my husband and I were looking at shore excursions to do. I came across an article in one of our travel magazines about a woman who was afraid of heights and pushed herself to try a zip line on their vacation. After I read the article, she inspired me to try it out (even though I too was deathly afraid of heights). Sitting in my home safe and sound, it seemed like a great idea. I told my husband we should try it and his response was, “You’re joking, right?” I somehow convinced him that I was serious and we booked the tickets.

Fast forward to the day of the zip line tour and I am freaking out. If this was a free tour I would have turned around and said, “I’ll wait for you in the van, honey.” But I had to go through with it. God puts things in your path that He knows you can handle, but in our small persuasive minds, we think we can’t do it. So, I get strapped up and hooked up to the line and was given instructions on what to do and what not to do. The first line I was hooked up to I was super scared and I used my brake too hard and stopped about 30 feet away from the end of the first stop. Now embarrassment sets in as one of the workers and to come “rescue” me. Once I was hooked up to the second line a new sense of accomplishment and courage came through me and it was one of the most thrilling things in my life as I sailed over the tops of trees on a beautiful, blue-sky day. I was thankful that my husband was there to encourage me and God was there to give me a shove off that platform.

Trying something new is a good thing. Change is a good thing. It helps us dig out of our rut to see the big picture of what is all around us. It shows us what is important in our lives. I am reminded of a quote, “God will never give you what you can’t handle.” We need to trust in His judgment for He knows the path we are walking on. So, as I am thinking of topics for this “new” blogging adventure I am on, I need to swipe Satan from my head and step off that platform. Even though I’m still deathly afraid of heights.