This morning at 4:00 a.m. I hopped in a vehicle to head to the airport, beginning my adventure to travel to the other side of the world. In a few hours, we will land in New Zealand, my first visit outside of the comfortable United States. I must be honest... I’m a little scared.

Being comfortable is so easy, right? It’s so easy to just stay home, go to the local DQ, watch some Netflix, and sleep in my comfortable bed every night. But yet, I decided to do something different. I chose to take this leap of faith.

This isn’t the first time I’ve had to take a leap of faith, though. There’s been many times throughout my life where I’ve had to step out of my comfort zone and do something that wasn’t easy. I’ve had to stand up for myself, stand up for others, and diverge off from the well-beaten path.

Maybe you’re feeling this now. Maybe you feel comfortable, but not satisfied. Maybe you feel good, but not great. Maybe you don’t feel totally empty, but you don’t feel fulfilled.

Maybe it comes from a job.

Maybe it comes from a relationship.

Maybe it comes from an opportunity.

Maybe it comes from a dream.

I remember during my freshman year of college I was in this relationship where I was being treated like absolute gold. The guy I was with practically worshipped the ground I walked on. He thought I was always right, he gave me everything I wanted, and he thought I was absolutely perfect. Sounds ideal, right? No. I wasn’t satisfied or fulfilled. I wasn’t being challenged. I wasn’t being made better. I knew I wasn’t always right, and I knew I didn’t deserve to be praised 24/7. I was so comfortable in the relationship, but I knew it wasn’t right for me. I knew I needed to take a leap of faith.

Ending the relationship meant that I could possibly not find someone who treated me that well ever again. Ending the relationship meant I would lose the person who thought I was perfect in every way and risk that no one would ever see me the way he did. But I did it. It hurt me, and it hurt him, but I did it. I took a leap of faith, because I knew that although my situation was comfortable, it wasn’t right for me.

It wasn’t easy. I questioned myself for days and stayed up late at night, knowing that I let the person who loved me so much go. I thought about taking him back, but I knew that I needed to take that leap of faith.

I look back on that now and think about the special man God placed in my life after that breakup. A man that is the perfect match for me. A man that loves me just as much, but pushes me, challenges me, and makes me better. A man that loves the Lord and realistically pushes me to pursue my dreams and expand my faith. A man that makes me think, believe, laugh, and smile like no other.

I never would have had this kind of partner had I not taken a leap of faith.

Circumstances in life are not always guaranteed. You don’t know what will happen in the future. But what I do know is that taking a leap of faith can get you to the place you want to be. Without taking a leap of faith, you miss out on what possibly could be.

Many people have reached out and commented on my courage to start a blog and put my thoughts out there for the whole world to see. It took a leap of faith. While although there have been ups and downs with it, the blog has saved lives. It has impacted people. All because I took a leap of faith. I had no idea whether or not this blog would impact a lot of people, but I went for it.

Here are a couple of different people that have reached out to me because of this leap of faith:

“I want to tell you what a blessing your message was to me today. I have been going through a dark and hard time and even though I daily try to focus on the positive and what God has for me, your message came to me from someone else and it was exactly what I needed at the exact moment to lift me out of extreme darkness. God bless you and what you are doing. You are a wonderful blessing to many. Thank you so very much for your quite literal life-saving words.”

And another one...

“I just wanted to thank you for your post because it actually kept me from making a decision I would’ve regretted. I haven’t felt the Love of God until I read your post titled “You are Loved”... I began to question if I was even lovable and question the love of God for me. I had gotten to a point where I wanted to take my life, but this gave me everything I wanted and everything I was needing... I just ask that you please be in prayer with and for me. I also wanted to thank you for being led by God to write. Because of your obedience, you helped save this weary soul.”

You may doubt. But you will grow.

You will be criticized. But you will learn.

No matter what leap of faith you feel inclined to take, know that you will be guided. Trust in the things God is placing on your heart. Don’t ignore them.

Is it going to be easy? Probably not.

Is it going to be uncomfortable? Absolutely.

Is it going to be a little scary? Yes.

But it’s worth it. As I leave the states I want to leave you with this:

Have faith in God’s plan for your life. Have faith in what He puts in your heart. Have faith that you are being guided. Get out of your comfort zone, go after what you want, and take that leap.

2 Corinthians 5:7 “For we walk by faith, not by sight.”