Photo by emdot

My first few weeks at my new job involved writing code to solve problems and taking the comps from Creative and turning them into a website. After I got the sites together we started the “Quality Control” phase. My coworker went through the sites with a fine tooth comb. He compiled a list of everything that was out of place or didn’t work on various browsers. One list contained over 170 items to be corrected.

I like a to-do list as much as the next person but this type of list borders on spirit-crushing. I look at it and feel overwhelmed. Some of the items I cannot act on currently. Even if I took the un-actionable items off my list, 90 percent of the list would remain. Many changes require sifting through the CSS to find the exact combination to make the box move five pixels to the left. If I’m really lucky, the change I make for IE7 will then cause an issue in IE8.

I don’t enjoy what I consider technical “housework”. I enjoy building the code equivalent of a tree house or tinkering in the garage. When it comes to cleaning the virtual bathroom grout with a toothbrush, I want to do anything but that. As I have thought about this I can’t help but think of the personal projects that litter my servers. In no particular order:

• Geek-Maps.com – The idea for this site was spawned after episode 718 of Buzz Out Loud. The fun part was making it work and getting mentioned on a later episode. But then I started thinking about all the additional features I should add. Combine the multiple design possibilities running through my head and it never got past the initial phase.
• Inventorymystuff.com – A site catered to churches to track their books and allow members to request books.
• TwoBirdsOneStone.org – You register a goal you want to reach and a charity to raise money for. Your social network provides encouragement for you and funds for your charity. If you fail to reach your goal, you are on the hook to match a percentage of the money raised.
• BookAchievements.com – It took the idea of XBox gamer scores and achievements and applied it to reading books. Think goodreads.com with gamification.

There are a number of reasons I failed to follow through on these projects. The idea was interesting but I couldn’t justify the time for a site that wouldn’t really accomplish anything. Time constraints with my personal life and my day job. I would think of more and more features and I couldn’t see an end in sight. Another promient problem was after the initial challenge was solved, the project wasn’t as fun.

After a quick glance at my bookshelves, you would find costless books with bookmarks poking out of the top. Generally, I get 20—30 pages in before being distracted by another shiny book. The Kindle app on my phone shows over 10 books in various states of progress.

All this self-examination has caused me to evaluate how I respond to “technical” housework. I adopted a few practices that have helped as I slog through these QC lists.

• Triage the list – My coworker went back and grouped all the functional items together. It was smaller and I could see progress as I worked the list. I will implement that on my next project.
• Attach action items to tasks – Over the past week I have taken a few minutes once or twice a day and just read through the list and determine next actions. I flag whether it needs to be discussed or I require an asset from Creative.
• Stop whining & get to work – This has had the most impact, but is the hardest to implement.

I may enjoy creating treehouses and tinkering with new libraries and technologies; however, I am short-sighted and I miss many “small” things that wreck the user experience. I make a really great treehouse but forget to put in a ladder. Case in point, I constantly forget to see how my code is going to respond in IE7. Some of the cool things I implement make the site unusable in IE.

So I remind myself that everyone is not out to get me and make more work for me. I triage my list and get to work. Before I know it, that list will be gone and we will ship a great product.

Do you struggle with wanting to build the treehouse and not clean the tile? How do you balance it?

Photo by foxypar4

A great deal has happened in the last three weeks. I resigned from one job, ran a marathon, and started a new job. Aside from the big events, there have been several smaller changes in my life. I made the decision when I started this new job that I would look at the challenges that arose as a chance for growth. Typically my response would be to bemoan the obstacles and hide from them. Here are a few of them.

• Learning a new work culture - Every time you start a new job you spend the first week in a whirlwind. You are learning the names of all your coworkers. There is paperwork. There are hours spent getting your computer and workspace organized, more so if your personality is like mine. However, the bigger challenges are learning the processes and projects. This is the first job where I have had to keep a running log of how much time I spend on a particular project and what task I’m doing for that project. I have to learn the various locations that both digital and physical assets are kept throughout the office. Each place I have worked before as part of the IT team, I have had administrator privileges on the network. I could install applications and take care of system configurations as needed. Now I’m a regular user like everyone else.
• Getting up to speed on projects – I spent the first couple of days learning about the various projects my department is working on. Crash courses in who the client is, what jobs are we doing for them, where we are in the process and what my role will be.
• Getting up to speed on new technologies (or at least new to me) – My first project requires me to write a few WordPress plugins. I’ve had a good bit of experience with WordPress but it has been a few years since I have actively developed for it. I have reacquainted myself with the documentation and have started learning the new functionality with version 3. Also, my new company is a Mac house. Before this week, I had not used a Mac for any extended period of time since my freshman year of college, fifteen years ago.
• Overcoming muscle memory – I’m not going to get into a Apple vs Windows debate, but it has been an adjustment. The hardware and software are great, however my muscle memory is causing problems. I have learned quite a few Windows keyboard shortcuts over the last 20 years. Learning new shortcuts isn’t that hard, but it can be slightly maddening when I’m trying to find and replace some text and the command I actually enter causes all my windows to disappear.
• Scrambled daily routines – For the last five months I have gotten up between 5:30am and 6:00am and on my scheduled days I would go for a run. Each morning I made breakfast, packed my lunch, showered, dressed and got to work by 8am. It helped that my commute was only two minutes. Then I would usually get off work about 4pm. Now my commute is ~35 minutes and many days I have not left the office until 5:30pm. I have also had bouts of insomnia so my daily routines are out of kilter. So now I’m trying to shift my schedule around to get back into balance.
• Asking for help – As I learn this new work culture, I’m learning to ask for help more often. Much of it is because if I don’t, I will not get anything done. I like to be self-sufficient and so having to ask lots of questions and get others to install software for me is breaking some of that down. I’m also learning to work on a development team. This is the first company I have worked for that there is a dedicated project manager. There is also a creative team that does all the artwork. There are added complexities with a team but I don’t have to stress over my lack of artistic ability or wrangle people to get the assets I need. I can just do my job and put the pieces together.

So with all these small changes and challenges occurring everyday, I’m trying to keep them in perspective. If I choose to embrace these obstacles and work to overcome them, I will come out better on the other side. I believe this work will stretch me as a developer. I also believe it will stretch me relationally. I will have to work to communicate better and learn to ask for help more often.

What are you learning from the smaller obstacles or challenges in your life? Are you embracing them or running from them?

Jeff Goins made the comment recently that “writers write.” That goes for just about any label. Runners run. Musicians make music. Readers read. Speakers speak. Parents parent. Friends befriend.

The definition of me as a runner stands in stark contrast to my self-applied label of “writer”. I could even throw in “friend.” These labels mock me because in my heart I know actions define. I don’t write. I scribble from time to time. But I don’t put in the metaphorical effort of pounding the pavement mile after mile in the cold, the wind, and the rain. I label myself as a friend but I don’t put out much effort to invest in the lives of my friends.

Everyone of us can look at the things we want to become, yet are not currently. We can become hard on ourselves because a particular defintion has not remained affixed. However, the issue that really needs to be addressed is “Why?” Why do I not write everyday? Why do I not invest more in my friendships?

My first answer is fear. Take my writing for example. Many times I don’t feel like I have anything worthwhile to say so I don’t write. I want to be seen as someone with ground-breaking ideas and so I skip the things I perceive as simple or mundane. Deep down, I’m also afraid that no one will care about what I have to say. Or take my friendships. I still struggle with that junior high feeling that I’m not cool enough. When I buy into that lie, my first instinct is to withdraw. If I don’t put myself out there with my friends, then I don’t run the risk of being rejected.

I kept running week after week because I saw it as a life or death decision. My father and grandfather both died of heart attacks before they were 50. I have known for years that I should care more about my health, but I never made the effort. But several years ago, something changed. I knew I was headed for the same fate if I didn’t make serious changes. So each step I took, I knew was putting me one step closer to cheating my family history.

So what if I looked at my writing and my friendships as a life or death situation as well. My creative and social health. When I shy away from expressing myself and don’t engage my friends then I’m setting myself on a path to mental and emotional death. Doing the hard work is not glamorous but it has to be done if you want to be defined in new ways.

Just as I relish the thought of being known as a runner, I want to be known as a writer and a better friend. I guess I’ve got work to do.

What actions do you want to be known by?

I met a guy who had recently been transferred from Okinawa to San Antonio. He was hoping to finish in under five hours but really just wanted to finish. He hadn’t been able to train in over a month. I thought I might keep pace with him but after the race started, I lost sight of him.

At 7am sharp the starter’s pistol went off and we were underway. As with any large race, the group surges forward and then everyone realizes there is no where to go unto the people ahead get moving. There was a pacesetter for a five hour run which is 11:27/mile. On some of my long runs I had been averaging between 11:10 to 11:40. I set that as an unofficial goal but decided I would start out slow and make a decision at mile 20 on whether to go for a sub-five hour time.

We made our way through downtown and then headed toward LSU’s campus. After a few miles, everyone began to spread out. I would pass a few people who were running and a few others who were walking. Then a minute or so later, those walkers would run back by me. As we made our way onto campus there was one woman that was keeping the same pace as I was. So I made sure I kept her in my sights. As we got near mile 13 or 14, she fell back and I was on my own. The field was thinning out more and more.

We headed back the way we came and then made this long loop out through several neighborhoods. Some stretches I might go for five minutes without seeing another person. I was making good time, but as I neared mile 17 I knew I was getting close to the wall. I also felt I was running out of energy. Then I came across a water station and picked up an energy gel. I got a boost out of it but not from the sugars. I wasn’t expecting mocha flavor, and it put a smile on my face.

As I reached mile 20, I knew the next six miles would be tough. I refused to stop and walk. I had made a mental goal that I would run the entire marathon. About mile 22 I knew I wasn’t going to make a sub-5 hour time. I set my focus on finishing well. The temperatures had warmed up and I was sweating but I got chills a few times. I couldn’t tell if I was dehydrating or had just used up all the energy my body had in reserves.

We finally made our way out of that long loop and ran back toward downtown. I had forgotten we crossed an overpass earlier in the morning and would have to go back over. The mile 25 marker was at the bottom of the overpass. At this point it became all mental. I had to keep willing my feet to keep moving. I was counting down the minutes left in my head. I passed runners who had finished and spectators. They kept telling me the finish line was just up ahead but I couldn’t see it. I made the second to last turn and the finish line came into view. I decided to be corny and throw my hands up in the air as I crossed the finish line.  I finished in 5:08:09.

In spite of the temporary pain, I am glad I ran this marathon. I really did enjoy the run. Three years ago, my diet was horrible and I got winded walking up a flight of stairs. If you’d had told me that in less than three years I would be running a marathon I would have laughed at you. If you had told me that I would have enjoyed it, I would have called a psychiatrist.

I wrestle with thoughts of whether I can stick with something and whether I give up too easily. This will help settle those thoughts. I trained for close to five months. Whether I felt like getting out of bed or not. Whether it was raining, cold, windy, or all of the above. Mile after mile. Something kept pushing me. I wanted to know if I could do it. Could the un-coordinated fat kid in high school become a marathon runner? I did. Now it’s time to start thinking about the next adventure.

Our occupation is how we make a living… Our vocation, on the other hand, is what we’re inherently wired for. It’s less likely to consist of a set of tasks and more likely to consist of a set of themes. – The Accidental Creative p. 210

I stand on a plateau. It’s a similar place I have found myself before. After a few years at a job, I became restless and want to move on. Most times, the culture of the organization has changed and my job transforms into a sit and wait job. Sit and wait for something to break. There are days when I feel like I need to suck it up and push through because no job is perfect.

I have pondered on this for several weeks now and I realize I’m frustrated because I’m not fulfilling my vocation. I’m trying to make the tasks I complete be the end all of my vocational fulfillment. I’m not doing the hard work of seeking out the things I am passionate about and bring me joy.

Many of us spend a lot of time thinking about how to pay the bills but little time thinking about who we really are and how to bring our full passion to what we do. We haven’t learned to discern the difference between our occupation and our vocation. As long as we keep trying to find fulfillment in the tasks we complete in our occupation, we will be frustrated.

My mind keeps coming back to the life of Paul. Paul’s occupation was tent making. His vocation was reasoning with Jew and Gentile alike that Jesus Christ was the Messiah. His tent making allowed him to make money to support his vocation. I would venture a guess he never questioned whether his tent making made him happy. I’m sure he was a great tent maker and did his best in all his endeavors. However, his occupation did not define him. His vocation defined him and propelled him. He was a minister of the Gospel to the Gentiles and that kept him going even in spite of persecution and imprisonment.

I enjoy solving problems. I like helping people. I like leading a small group and seeing people grow in their faith. I like teaching and seeing the light bulb go off.

So as this year starts out, I need to do the hard work of understanding what my vocation is and not worry so much about the occupation.

How do you find the balance between your occupation and vocation?

Sixty-nine years ago today, my father was born and it’s been just over 20 years since he died. After recent conversations and events, I have been reminiscing and sharing different memories about him. Listed below are some of the stories I’ve been told, memories I have, and things I learned from him.

• He was a mechanical engineer and wore a pocket protector to work everyday. He always had a mechanical pencil and a felt tip pen with him. My brother and I probably destroyed quite a few of his pens over the years. A few years ago, I saw a fellow student with the same pen and I practically snatched it from their hand. It took me back to my childhood and reconnected me in a small way to my dad.
• My mother tells the story that when he showed up for their second date, he was wearing overalls. That was also the first time he met her mother. He was not a redneck, he just did his own thing. When he got married, he had 30+ dress shirts. That way he only had to do laundry once a month.
• I have two vivid clothing related memories of him as well. Once we were at a state park for a picnic. It was hot and he proceeded to take his pants off in the middle of the park. Unbeknownst to me, he had shorts on underneath but I was mortified either way. He was also wearing black socks with his shorts. The other memory was when he showed up to our Halloween carnival wearing a pink tank top, a tutu, and carrying a magic wand. My dad had a gut, jet black hair and a full beard. It’s funny to think about now but I was embarrassed then.
• He introduced us to our first computer, a TI-99/4A in the early 80s. He brought home a trackball for us to try before most computers were even using mice. We also had a speech synthesizer. We would make it say all kinds of silly things. Learning BASIC and experimenting with that computer got me hooked on technology. I think my dad would be a huge tech head today. He would love playing with the new smartphones and probably dabble in app development. He could appreciate Apple products if nothing else for the engineering involved.
• I remember his handwriting was immaculate. He wrote in all upper case, probably a result of his engineering background. He was also very methodical in what he did. One example was the little notebooks he would keep in the glove compartment of our car to log the mileage. He wanted to know that we were getting consistent fuel economy.
• I remember riding with him in our old ’67 baby blue Chevy pickup. The bed had rusted out years ago and so he had replaced it with plywood. The shifter was on the column. I would watch him as he moved the gear shift around trying to find second gear.
• As an engineer, he would work on projects in the shed. He also did most of the remodeling in any of our homes. I remember when we were changing an old bathroom into my new bedroom. He was trying to remove the old toilet. He wrapped a chain around it and began pulling. He lost his grip, fell backwards and landed on his butt. He got back up and eventually got the toilet pulled out. He wrote my name and the date of the remodel on the piece of wood that covered the hole. That way the future owners would find it find if they tore up the floor. When we tore out a wall in our house in Louisiana, he gave me a crow bar and let me show the sheet rock who was boss.
• He started building us a tree house just before he died. He didn’t do anything half way. This “tree” house stood 10 feet tall and was free-standing. The legs were joined to the frame with metal plates and lag bolts. We had to use our old Chevy truck to pull the legs upright.
• Another time I wanted to build a go-cart. He tried to get me to make a light-weight version that would be easier to steer and push back up the hill. I had in my mind that I needed to replicate a car body. I built this giant wooden box and then tried to make it into a go-cart. He helped me devise a way to steer and came up with a lever-activated braking system. I was so proud of my go-cart. I got on the road and headed down the hill. Everything worked as designed. However, it was really difficult to push this giant box back up the hill. I didn’t use it much after that inaugural run. He could have easily taken over the project and done things the “right” way but he let me try and fail.

I can’t point to any particular moment where he imparted some earth-shattering piece of wisdom. However, there is so much of how he acted and who he was that shaped my life and my character. I just wish he were still hear to share these memories with.

Courtesy of Charlie Llewellin

Thinking back on the last few months a familiar pattern emerges with regards to my writing. I have fallen back into a sprint mentality. I start with a burst of creative output but after a few weeks I am sputtering. The Accidental Creative site raised the question, what is our creative superpower and our creative kryptonite. My kryptonite is consistency. After the burst, I allow distractions to take center stage and my output flags. After much processing, I realize that creating is a marathon.

• Marathons require conviction. You have to be dedicated to the cause. In order to run a marathon successfully you need to train for several months. That requires getting up early, putting on your running shoes and then putting in the mileage. Even when you’re tired, or it’s raining or it’s cold, you put on your shoes and pound the pavement. And when it comes time to run the race, the dedication to the training will help carry you through. The same goes with writing. If I write a few things in a sprint, that doesn’t make me a writer, it just means I got lucky. Anyone can sprint; the whole fight or flight response, but not everyone can run a marathon. Writing a few things every few months is like putting on running shoes and walking around the block once a week.
• You have to pace yourself. Some runs I start out and I’m feeling good and set off at a fast pace. After a few miles, I’m struggling to finish. Other days, I start off with the right pace and I feel like I could run for miles. You need to find the right pace for creating. If you try and do too much the quality of your work will suffer and you’ll be facing creative injury or burnout.
• You have to start out small. I decided to start running about two and half years ago. I bought some shoes and went out to run two miles my first day. I hadn’t run in over 10 years. I almost passed out about a mile in. The next day I was back running, but I started small. I ran for 400m and then walk for 400m. I repeated this till I had covered three miles. I did this for a couple of weeks and then moved up to 800m intervals. A few weeks later I was going to move up to 1200m. Instead I ended up running three miles without stopping. If you want to start painting or writing you don’t start with trying to paint the next Van Gogh or write the next Hemingway novel. Start by painting some Bob Ross trees or write a one page story. As you continue you need to keep increasing the challenge. If you don’t, you’ll just continue painting happy trees and fluffy clouds but be short of a masterpiece.
• You need variety.  Some days I run intervals to break up the routine. Other days I might do some sprints after my longer run. A change of scenery always helps. You’re creativity will fluctuate so why not work that in to provide some variety. Write a movie or TV review on your low output days. If you write about business all the time, throw in some work about sports or even some fiction. Mix it up to keep it interesting.
• Above all, just do it. I’m about two months in my marathon training. Most mornings when my alarm goes off at 5:30, I just want to pull the covers over my head. But something compels me to get out of bed and put on my running shoes. Once I’m going, I know I can finish. I just have to get started. I wish the same could be said for my creating. So I guess I need to take my own advice. Hence I’m finishing this post after letting it sit for several weeks unfinished.

In what ways do you struggle in the marathon of creating? How have you overcome those obstacles?

The first path was the narrow path. At some points, the path was nothing more than an animal track. The most recent creature had been a deer sometime since the last rain. At other times, the trail became obscure and there were “paths” going in multiple directions. I had to stop and survey my surroundings and then make a choice. Several times after choosing a “path” I made the mental note that I would reevalutate my choice after walking for a few minutes.

Later, I crossed a dry creek bed and found myself in a cedar grove. It felt like something out of Lord of the Rings. The bare limbs scraped against each other as the wind blew through the tops of the trees. The ground was carpeted with cedar needles likely from the drought. This left the trees bare and their narrow branches reached out as if to take hold of me. Also as their branches reached out toward their brethren, the path was hidden at times from my view.

I eventually broke out of that area and found my path blocked by a large fallen cedar tree. To go around would be difficult with the amount of undergrowth. A person of shorter stature could have worked their way under the limbs, but I would have had more difficultly. There was not much else to do. I jumped on the trunk and worked my way across the suspended limbs till I was able to jump down on the other side. I walked farther and came across more downed trees but was reassured that I was on the right path. There was a stair case built by park rangers years ago.

I climbed the stair case and then just as quickly hiked back down the hill. That’s when I entered the area that made the hair stand up on the back of my neck. There was the sound of branches rubbing against each other again. But there was another sound. A light throbbing or thumping sound. I heard it over head or off to the side. After hearing it a couple of times, I finally looked up and saw the cause. There were vultures perched in the trees all above me. My eyes fell back to the path and something was off. Then my brain processed what it was seeing. The ground all around me was bleached white with their excrement. This was getting weird. I kept walking and looked down just as I was ready to step on the remains of a dead vulture. A few leg bones and feathers were all that remained. In fact, the trail was littered with feathers. I began imagining the animal that could cause that explosion of feathers. My step quickened and then I heard that familiar sound of flies swarming around a carcass. In the same moment, I was assaulted with a putrid smell of death. I knew there was another dead animal out there. I’d had enough of this area.  I wanted out. How I didn’t start sprinting out of there I don’t know?

The trail eventually widened and the canopy parted allowing me a better view of the lake and the sky. Then it started downhill and followed the shoreline of the lake. The sky was a clear blue and the wind made ripples on the lake. Such a difference from all the things I had just encountered.

Which part of the trail does it feel like you are on in life?

The details are fuzzy but either the photos didn’t turn out or were lost. Regardless, all the pages we had planned to send to the printer couldn’t go. Instead of telling the new advisor what happened, I tried to fix it on my own. Then we missed deadlines. I still tried to do it on my own. I began lying to the printers. The end of the school year came and we didn’t have yearbooks. Students would stop me on campus and ask for updates. I lied. I lied to the administration. I couldn’t show my weakness. I couldn’t tell them I failed. I stressed throughout the summer. We returned to school the next year and started working on the yearbook for my senior year. We still hadn’t made any progress on the previous year’s book.

Then my tightly crafted lie to protect my reputation fell apart. The principal called me into his office. He had spoken with the printers and had learned how far behind and over budget we were. I came clean. I told him what happened. I don’t remember exactly what I said. I guess I have blocked it from my memory. His response, however, is etched into my mind. He was a former Navy officer and exuded an exacting, gruff military exterior. But that day in his office, I didn’t receive a tongue-lashing from a drill sergeant. I didn’t receive any condemnation. He didn’t dwell on the past. I’d probably punished myself more than he ever could. In a direct and compassionate way he said, “What do we do to fix it?”

We cut 20-30 pages from my senior book to make up for the budget overrun from the previous year. I had to tell the rest of the staff what happened. I had to deal with the fallout from my yearlong deception.  Finally, sometime in April of my senior year we got the books for the year before. Then about a month later, we got the books for my senior year.

Most of my friends from high school probably forgot about that episode a few months after graduation.  I on the other hand still remember.  It doesn’t haunt me but reminds me of how a leader should respond when things fall apart.

Specifically I learned:

• You are not Superman/Super Woman. You have blind spots and need others to help.
• Be honest. If I had come forward at the beginning I could have saved myself a year of stress and heartache.
• When you screw up, stop focusing on the past and look to how to fix the problem. This goes for you and well as how you treat those under your leadership.

Photo courtesy of Picture This / Patty

I read an interview with Jonathan Fields about his new book Uncertainty. He said most of us don’t like uncertainty because it causes fear and anxiety. So we avoid it at all cost. I’m typically the guy with the plan. I like routine. So when I encounter times of uncertainty I often try and negate the effects or get it over with as soon as possible.

The last few weeks I have been more upbeat, for good reason. I’ve got new friendships, I’m training for a marathon, and I’ve got creative outlets outside of my day job. At the same time, I have run into a great deal of uncertainty. Each of these new things in my life also come with its own set of uncertainties.

Based on my past reactions, I would have run from the uncertainity or minimized it. However, this time around I seem to be standing in the face of it. Instead of focusing on how everything could go wrong, I’m trying to focus on the opportunites. I got a call  about a contract position at a Fortune 100 company in the area. My first thought was to look at the negatives. I don’t think I am talented enough and I don’t want to leave a full-time job for a six month contract job in this economy.

But then I started looking at the opportunities. I have been looking for a job that balances time with people and coding.  The pay is considerably more than my current job. Enough that by the end of the six months, I could walk away debt free. I have scrimped and pared back my lifestyle for the last six years to get out of debt faster. To finally realize that goal would be indescribable. And without that debt hanging over my head, I would have greater freedom to pursue other things.

I shared with a friend the other day that I am working on a book that takes place in Vietnam. I mentioned that I struggle with making sure it is culturally accurate. She was silent for a moment and then said, “Sounds like you need to take a trip.” At first, I brushed it off as a crazy idea. I’m doing everything I can to get out of debt. How could I justify spending the money on a trip like that. A few days later, I got the crazy idea of getting sponsors for my trip, which brings up so many more questions. However, I finally came to the conclusion, “What do I have to lose?”

Ultimately, I think that is what Jonathan is trying to get at. What do we have to lose? It’s not going to kill me if I run headlong into this uncertainty. And the more I walk in this uncertainty, the more I remember I don’t have all the answers.

From my perspective, the intersection of uncertainty and action is faith. I don’t know the outcome but I trust in the One who does. So I act by walking into the uncertainty.

So what about you? Is there a time when you were uncertain and braved the winds of fear and waves of anxiety? What happened as a result of persevering?