I AM STEPPING OUT

Today is International Women's Day and I am Stepping Out...

I once read an old fable about a Wise Man who lived many years ago who can discern the truth from lies. He solved many mysteries in his time and was acclaimed to be the wisest man on earth. People came from far and wide to visit the Wise man and get to the root of their problems. He became the adjudicator, the judge of all men both young and old.

However, the Wise man’s fame attracted jealousy amongst other men who also claimed to be wise. One day, his enemies gathered together and sought to overthrow him as the wisest man on planet earth. They decided to gather together all the people of the earth to witness the fall of the Wise man.

They called the Wise man into the public arena with all the people watching. One of the young men with them approached the Wiseman and said: “Wiseman, I want to prove to the whole world that you are not as you claim. I want you to answer a simple question. I am holding a small bird in my cupped hand. Is it dead or alive?”

The Wise man pondered over the story. If he said it was alive, the young man would simply squeeze the bird to death. If he said it was dead, he would open his cupped hand and let the bird fly away. He thought deeply about what to do as the spectators anxiously waited with bated breath to see whether the Wisest man on earth would be dethroned.

The Wiseman simply looked at the spectators and then looked intently at the young man and said: “the answer is in your hands.”

Our destiny is, to a large extent, in our hands. We can embrace our dreams and make it happen, or we can cup our hands tightly and kill our dreams. The answer is in our hands. The day that marked a turning point in my life was when I picked up a book; nonchalantly flipped the pages. My eyes suddenly reverted to a sentence in the middle of the page. It was a question that jolted me from my reverie. “What would be your one big regret if you realise that you have a few months to live.”

I knew without any shadow of a doubt that I would have one big one – allowing my God-given talent to stagnate. Today, I step out and make a decision. I will dust out my cupboard, break all boundaries and move forward. It's another day. It is time to move forward, to step out and face my fears. It is time to say to myself: “I don't have a few months to live. I have many years to live but every day I live brings me closer to the end.”

I want to live my dreams. I don’t want to be a part of the riches in the graveyard made up of buried talents and vanquished hopes. The answer is in my hands. I am stepping out of my closet; my books, manuscripts, writings, hopes and dreams with me.

Do you want to join me, today? Please ask yourself the following questions:

(a)  Do you have a vision you have kept in the closet for too long?

(b) Do you make the same resolution every year to achieve a particular goal?

(c)  Do you want to make a change and do not have the zeal to do so?

(d) Are you ready for the adventure of your life?

If your answer is yes to the following questions, then come on board; let’s roll.

For With God, All things are possible! Matthew 16 v 26

Happy International Women’s Day!