Joining a flash mob of writers over at Lisa-Jo’s for Five Minute Friday. Today’s word?

FLY

It’s a season of growing pains. Of feeling so uncomfortable in my own skin that I want to crawl out and escape and then realizing that’s exactly what I have to do to be free.

My inclination is to run. To hop a plane and fly out of here to some exotic destination unknown where my only responsibility is exploring, adventure, discovery. To get deliciously lost on some back road or in a culture I’ve never been exposed to before.

But that’s not my calling. My shoes have cement and the people around me stand strong. They refuse to let me run. Because running, flying, would be easy. Roots are tough and familiar all at once. And blooming from those roots, even tougher.

My book comes out in just over two months, and I’m terrified. And excited. And amazed. And…too many emotions to fully understand or identify. All I know is God is good. But that’s my heart on the page, lined up for critic and friend to love or abuse in the most intimate way. It’s a piece of me never seen before.

And with it, these growing pains tug me from my skin, push me to meet people I’d never consider, write from my heart, raw and real. And I’m learning to fly in the midst of a season of stretching.

Because vulnerability comes at the cost of losing our shell. And I’m learning to soar in the midst of my fear, becoming more me than ever. And I’m learning that the best part about this season is the ability to grow wings and soar while maintaining my roots, the core that makes me beautifully who God made me. No matter where I may fly, I know where to return if I ever begin to lose myself.