I Hope You Fly: A Letter From An Introvert Mother

My dear daughters, 

So often when I reach the beginning of something I worry about falling. I think this each time I need to take a leap of faith, whether in myself or whether in my trust of others. I worry that I will make a mistake. I hope you understand that while you may make a mistake, it will not define you.

Sometimes those mistakes may be not taking that leap of faith. There have been times when I have held back, but, in those times when I have held back, I didn’t fly either.

I know what it is like to be afraid. To not want to step outside my comfort zone. To say hi to people I don't know. But, I want you to know, that I have grown from those times when I pushed past my fears and did what I knew was right and what I knew would make me happy.

I’m not referring to pushing yourself to be what everyone else thinks you should be. If it is not something that will make you happy in the end, you don’t have to do it. Understanding what will make you truly happy is what will help you to fly.

So, my beautiful girls, there will be times when you will be anxious, there will be times when you will feel like you will fall if you move forward. But, I want you to know that if you take that leap, you might very well fly. And if you continue to leap, you will fly.

Some may call you shy, some may call you sensitive, but I want you to know that those very things also give you strength. Those strengths will help you to understand your fears, and to face them. Not only face them, but overcome them.

There will be times that will be difficult, that strength may be hard to find and that you may not see it within yourself. But, it is there. The Lord is always there to help you find that strength. Trust in Him and believe in yourself.

Oh, my dear daughters, I hope you grow up stepping outside your comfort zone in order to fly. I hope that you take the strengths that you have and use them to bless the lives of others as well as your own. I hope that you won’t get caught up on what the world may see as weaknesses but that you’ll understand your weaknesses and then see the strengths within them.

I hope that you fly.

Whatever you are going through, wherever you may be in your life, whether you are ready to fly or not, know that you can succeed. Believe. Believe in yourself. Believe that you can fly.

I love you, Mom.