The Life I’m Learning to Become #4: Learning to Become Courageous
Two years after adopting Lorian and Calissa, Maya discovered that she was pregnant.
She had learned how to care for two children. She had built a family with Nathan while constantly traveling in their campervan. She had learned to balance motherhood, family, work, and all the unexpected moments that came with raising children.
But now there would be three.
Could she really handle it?
Maya hesitated to tell her family. Not because she was unhappy about the pregnancy, but because beneath the excitement was a quiet question she could not stop asking herself:
Am I really ready for this?
That night, Maya finally gathered her courage and told Nathan and their children.
Nathan immediately smiled.
“That’s good news,” he said.
Lorian and Calissa were excited too. They wanted to know whether the baby would be a boy or a girl. They talked about becoming older siblings and wondered where the baby would sleep inside their campervan.
Everyone seemed happy.
Everyone except the part of Maya that was still afraid.
Deep down, she worried that she might not be good enough to become a mother of three.
What Fear Makes Us Believe
Fear has a strange way of turning possibilities into disasters.
Maya began overthinking everything about her pregnancy.
What if I can't handle my job and family life?
What if I don't have enough time for Lorian and Calissa anymore?
What if the baby changes everything?
And there was another concern.
Their family was constantly on the road.
The campervan had become their home. They traveled from place to place, experienced new things, and built memories together. But could they really raise a newborn while living on the road?
The more Maya thought about it, the more uncertain she became.
Sometimes fear doesn't tell us that we are making the wrong choice.
Sometimes fear simply tells us that the choice matters.
And because it matters, we become afraid of getting it wrong.
Learning to Trust God Through Fear
That day, the campervan was back in Verden City, the capital of Verdian.
Maya decided to visit the temple of God Sol and Goddess Lune with her family.
While Nathan and the children explored the temple grounds, Maya stayed behind for a moment to pray.
That day, she prayed a little harder.
Not because she had stopped believing.
But because she was afraid.
She closed her eyes and quietly prayed about the baby, her family, her responsibilities, and everything she couldn't control.
When she opened her eyes, tears were already falling down her cheeks.
A priest noticed her and approached gently.
“Ma'am, is everything all right? Why are you crying during your prayer?” he asked.
Maya wiped her tears.
“I’m pregnant,” she admitted. “I’m happy, but I’m worried that I’m not prepared for a new baby.”
The priest listened without judgment.
Then he opened the Solis Holy Book and showed her a verse about not being afraid because God and Goddess would help their people through what they were facing.
“You don't have to know everything before you take the first step,” the priest told her. “Sometimes faith means trusting that you will receive what you need along the way.”
Those words stayed in Maya's heart.
Slowly, she stopped asking:
What if everything goes wrong?
Instead, she began asking:
What if God is asking me to take this step?
The situation had not changed.
Her fears had not completely disappeared.
But her perspective had.
Becoming Courageous One Step at a Time
Maya slowly began embracing her pregnancy.
She started preparing for the baby in small ways.
She read parenting books. She went through her notes from the Parent% program. She talked with Nathan about what they might need to change once the baby arrived.
They even began transforming parts of the campervan to make it more comfortable and welcoming for a newborn.
But perhaps the sweetest thing Maya did was talk to the baby.
Sometimes, while Lorian and Calissa were sleeping, Maya would place her hand on her growing belly and tell the baby the same stories she had once told their older siblings.
She told the baby about their family.
About Nathan.
About Lorian and Calissa.
About their adventures.
About their little home on wheels.
She didn't know exactly what the future would look like.
But she was learning that courage did not require certainty.
It simply required her to keep moving forward.
Courage Doesn't Always Look Dramatic
When we hear the word courage, we often imagine something dramatic.
A person standing against an enemy.
Someone making a life-changing decision.
A person doing something extraordinary despite being afraid.
But courage can be much quieter than that.
Sometimes courage looks like ordinary choices we make every day.
Asking for Help
You don't have to do everything alone.
If you are struggling, asking for help is not a weakness. It takes courage to admit that you need someone beside you.
Starting Again After Failure
Failure can make us afraid to try again.
But courage means getting back up.
You may have failed yesterday, but that doesn't mean you cannot begin again today.
Forgiving Someone
Forgiveness can require enormous courage.
It doesn't mean pretending that what happened didn't hurt. It means choosing not to carry the weight of resentment forever.
Sometimes forgiveness is a way of releasing yourself from unnecessary emotional baggage.
Walking Away from Something Familiar
Sometimes courage means leaving something behind.
You may have to walk away from friendships, environments, or habits that constantly pull you away from the person God is calling you to become.
Familiar doesn't always mean healthy.
And leaving doesn't always mean losing.
Sometimes walking away is how you protect your faith.
Staying Faithful When Nobody Is Watching
It is easy to work hard when someone is watching.
It is harder to keep doing the right thing when nobody is there to praise you.
Courage means remaining faithful even when your boss isn't around, nobody is checking your work, and no one will know whether you chose to do the right thing.
Your character is built in those unseen moments.
Admitting That You Don't Have All the Answers
You are human.
You don't have to know everything.
You don't need every answer before taking your next step.
Sometimes courage means saying, I don't know what to do yet, but I'm willing to trust God and learn.
What Maya Learned About Becoming Courageous
Maya's pregnancy taught her that courage wasn't the absence of fear.
It was choosing to move forward while fear was still present.
Through her journey, she learned that:
Courage grows through practice. Every small courageous choice makes the next one easier.
Fear doesn't automatically mean you're making the wrong choice. Sometimes fear simply means you're stepping into something unfamiliar.
You don't need everyone's approval to obey God. Faith sometimes requires you to move forward even when others don't understand.
God doesn't promise that every courageous step will be easy. Courage doesn't remove difficulties; it gives us the strength to face them.
Sometimes courage means trusting God with the outcome. You can make the best decision you know how to make without controlling what happens next.
The person you become through courageous choices matters more than the outcome itself.
Maya didn't suddenly become fearless.
She simply stopped allowing fear to make every decision for her.
And perhaps that is what becoming courageous really means.
What Are You Learning to Become?
Maybe you are standing at the beginning of something new.
A new job.
A new relationship.
A new responsibility.
A new season of faith.
Or perhaps you are simply being asked to take one small step that you've been avoiding because you're afraid of what might happen next.
Does Maya's story resonate with you?
What are you afraid to begin?
What small step might God be asking you to take today?
You don't have to see the entire path.
You only need enough courage to take the next step.
Courage Is a Choice We Make Every Day
Becoming courageous doesn't mean that everything suddenly becomes easy.
It doesn't mean fear disappears overnight.
And it certainly doesn't mean you will never doubt yourself again.
Courage takes time.
Defeating fear is not a one-time achievement. It is a continual choice we make every day.
Some days, courage may look like taking a huge leap of faith.
Other days, it may simply mean getting out of bed and trying again.
The important thing is that fear doesn't have to disappear before you move forward.
You can be afraid and still take the step.
You can have questions and still trust God.
You can feel unprepared and still become the person you are being called to become.
Remember: don't let fear lead you.
Let fear come along for the journey if it must, but don't allow it to choose the destination.
Because becoming courageous isn't about becoming someone who never feels afraid.
It is about becoming someone who refuses to let fear decide who they will become.
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