Day 35: Multiple Expressions (100 Days to Brave)

Do the days sometimes seem the same with very little variance?
I feel that.

As I read Annie's devotional I find myself remembering that A) you, the reader, may not know Annie like I know Annie, and B) Annie actually has no idea who I am.

But I feel like I already know her because I read her stories and I know the punchlines. Because I know her. And there is good reason that I know her- it is because I invest in knowing her. I read her books and check out her website. I listen to her podcast and follow some of her guests. The thing is, Annie has multiple expressions of her life and still, just one calling.

I have been very brave to you, my readers. You know that I have professed interest in writing, and speaking, and doing all the things. But admission is scary. What becomes of all this hoping if I don't write, speak, and do?

Almost two dozen years ago (gasp!), I was a junior in high school and hoped desperately to go to Germany with my school's student exchange. As the time drew closer to the application deadline, Herr Knorr would ask our German class who was interested in participating and a handful of us would raise our hands, proudly. The thing was, my hand only ever made it ear-level. I couldn't raise it all the way up, proudly displaying my intent, because I knew there were repercussions for the possible lack of follow-through. 
It was not a given that I would go...could go.
But I wanted it.

Today I am braver than I was all those years ago.
In part, it is acceptance of who I am and my hopes and dreams. In part it the courage I get from being behind a screen, and not facing my peers.

In the end, you know my dreams and there is some accountability there, some need for follow-through.  My heart is to teach. To share, to encourage, to write the thing and talk to the people and go to the places. And this seems awfully vague, I know, but I can see it in my mind's eye.

One calling, multiple expressions.

Be Brave: 

Is God revealing some different ways you might express your calling? 

UNIGLOBE Carefree Travel

Meeting here with you week after week- one expression.
Opening my doors and having mom's group meet at my place- one expression.
Teaching a Sunday School class at my church and leading it- one expression.
One calling. 

I enjoy knowing that I am braver today than I was once upon a time. This represents growth. 

You know what else?
I went to Germany that summer of 2000!
For two summers I worked and saved money, and then I flew oversees with my peers and lived in the home of a girl named Ulrike. I lived with Ulrike, her sister, Jetta, and their parents for a month. Ulrike and I shared a room.
In October of that same year, Ulrike flew State-side and lived with my family and I.

It happened. It began with an interest. It progressed to a drive. And a raised hand. And an airline ticket. And it happened.

This begins with a dream. A blog. A writing class. And it happens.