Embrace The Unknown

Yes, it happened guys, we made it through 2020 and into 2021. How does it feel? Has your life automatically gotten better? Have you been on fire for the things that bring you passion? Have you had the ability to move forward and forget about the past? I don’t know about you, but once the year 2021 came around, there was this new energy inside of me. The media and news would tell you that nothing has changed, that there is still turmoil in the world around us. And really there probably is. To be honest there probably always has been. But the question that I got to ask a small group of young adults at the start of the year was, What are you going to do about it? How are you going to go into 2021? Are you going to just limp into the new year? Or are you going to Embrace the Unknown?

That’s right the first week of January, well actually January 9th one of my good friends Caleb and I had the ability to bring a message of hope and adventure to some young folks. We had the ability to show those around us that the world is not ending. That there is more to this life than just to live in fear. And I promise we brought it.

Along with Caleb and I, there were a group of people who came together to make this event a success. We had an emcee, a band, a light crew, a sound crew, and plenty of people pitch in to help with GREAT food. You see when it comes to living this life on adventure and really bring a message to the world, it takes more than one person. It takes a community of people. That is something that I have had to learn over the years without a community of people around you, this life is so much harder. So who is in your community? Who is helping you live life to the fullest? Where do you go to get the help you need? To talk to when things are tough? Make sure you are surrounding yourself with positive people and people that believe in you, that will challenge you, and that will push you forward. These are the people that you are going to need when years like 2020 happen again.

But back to the main topic, and that is let’s take 2021 and learn to “Embrace the Unknown”. This message of hope and adventure was a great way to start the year. It was a much-needed message and a triumph of my heart over the year to come. To not come into this year really fearful of what was next. That is what happened in 2020 and I didn’t want another year of that. I feared too much in 2020 and really didn’t live life to the fullest. It crippled me. So bringing this message was medicine for my soul. Below let’s dive into some of the main points.

What happens when we Embrace the Unknown instead of living in fear?

The first thing is we finally realize that we are not in control over what happens. If 2020 can show us anything, it can show us that we really don’t know what tomorrow holds. That is ok though because there is someone who does. If you don’t know already, I do believe that there is a God that is in control. That knows what is next, and that has a plan for you and I. So I am not sure why I was fearful in 2020? I shouldn’t have been. But when we do embrace the unknown it helps us to know that we are not in control, and that is ok

The next thing that happens when we choose to embrace the unknown is that it creates a humbleness within. Really living this life on adventure seems like you would need to be overly confident. That to go into this world and adventure into some crazy situations that you would need to stand above the rest. And while this is not untrue, it is also not true. You see there is a difference between being confident and being conceited. I have had a problem with this in the past. Back in the day I would show off or put down others to show how good I was. This though is not living life with love in mind. So I had to change that mindset. What I have learned is that I can be both confident in the future and what I am doing, while being humble about my situation and accomplishments. 2020 was a very humbling year, and by living life embracing the unknown it will create a humbleness inside of you. It will show you that these adventures and the unknown are beyond you and that no matter how confident you are, there may be more ahead that seems like too much to handle. Though that is not true, you CAN handle it, it helps you be humble.

The third thing that embracing the unknown does for you is that it creates a fearlessness to keep moving forward. Moving towards the unknown and away from the known and comfortable will grow your ability to handle the fear. It will show you that the things that you dream up in your mind don’t need to be feared at all. Man, I should be living out my own advice. You see this blog and my ideas for AOLA have sort of left me in fear. A fear to start and a fear of what can happen. But if I would just embrace that energy that my body is creating, that adrenaline that is being built up inside, and pushed it towards moving forward rather than fearing, then I would be so much further right now. When we embrace the unknown we don’t fear, we move forward. Fear, though real, is something that can be handled. It can be controlled. I believe it can take the help of others or even a Father that really loves you more than you know, but really it is something that we don’t have to let overtake us. Embrace the unknown, choose to live in the middle of it, and choose to not accept the fear building up inside of you.

We move on to the next thing that embracing the unknown will do for us, and that is it will show us though we can’t control the unknown, there are some things that we can control. Those things are our reactions to the uncertainty that we are facing. So how did you react to 2020? Did you live a life on adventure and really embrace the unknown? Or did you shy away and move away from the hard things to the comfortable places? Did you allow yourself to reach out and get the help you needed or did you isolate yourself and live in crippling fear? You see we can’t control the unknown in the future, but we can control how we react to it. This is what embracing the unknown allows us to do, to react in a positive way. It allows us to take the unknown and keep pushing forward. If there is any advice I could give you right now it would be to push forward. That you are loved, your life matters, and you are worth it. You don’t need to give up. You don’t need to quit. You don’t need to stop. What has been placed in front of you will only make you stronger on the other side. It will not end you. So keep going.

And the final piece of what embracing the unknown will do for us is it will allow us to see God show up again and again when we need it the most. Like I said earlier, I believe that there is a God that loves you more than you know, and wants the best for you. He may bring you through some tough times, but He will bring you through. So if you embrace the unknown, it can help bring you closer to the God that does know. That knows everything, about you, about the world, about it all.

That night we read a passage out of the Bible. We read Acts 16: 16-30. This passage talks about two men who were living life on adventure. They were bringing Good News to the world around them, and because of that, they were thrown into prison. They then chose to change the people they came in contact with by not doing the expected. They did the unexpected and Embraced the Unknown.

So I ask you, in 2021 how can you Embrace the Unknown? How can you move forward and keep pushing into the things that you desire and dream for? What is your next step? How can we at AOLA help come alongside you and move you towards the next steps for you? Please leave a comment on this post and let’s chat about how you want to Embrace the Unknown.

“For God has not given us a spirit of fear; but of power, love, and a sound mind”

2 Timothy 1:7

Here is a link to that message if you guys want to watch it in its entirety.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8LJyqy77TXo&t=13s