Jump Into Something New
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Photography by Madi Floury Henderson
You know that feeling when you find a new trend that works for you and suddenly all you want to do is buy more of that same look? Well, that’s how I currently feel about jumpsuits. At first, I didn’t love the idea. It was a fad I couldn’t quite get on board with. Then, I tried one on and fell head over heels for it. Why did I wait so long to embrace such a fun style? This jumpsuit found me at Nordstrom, and I knew it would be a perfect addition to my collection.
Sometimes we jump into new things, like a new hobby, relationship, job, or pair of jeans. But, sometimes we jump into these new things and forget to jump out of the thing we left behind: our past.
We all have something in our past that impacts our present. It can also impact our future because it is so overpowering that we can’t seem to move on. We allow it to control our hopes and dreams and even relationships. And that’s not what the past is supposed to do.
Your past is a part of you. It helped shape and mold you into the person you are today. But it doesn’t have to define you. We need to learn from our past but not let it stop us.
I am not a risk taker. Nine times out of ten, I play it safe. This is probably due to something I encountered in my past: a moment where I failed or didn’t live up to expectations. I let that “play it safe” mentally really define me for a long time. I talked a lot about the things I wanted to do; but, whenever it came time to tackle it, I would back away in fear. I would tell myself that I was content with where I was and what I was doing. Everything was fine – why change it?
But there have been a series of events over the past year or so where I can really feel God pushing me to go for it – to accept the fact that these thoughts can’t just be vivid images in my mind anymore. It’s time to take action. I can no longer let the fear of my past prevent me from living out my future.
So, whatever it is that you are jumping into these days, I pray that you are doing so knowing that God is jumping in with you. He isn’t worried about what might have happened in the past, He has already forgiven you for that. He is focused on shaping you into the person He created you to be. Just go for it.
