Closing Out a Year of Courage...

I teased recently that I would be sharing my word for 2015 soon, but I can't really move forward to 2015 before looking back and reflecting on the year we are in now. My word that I chose for 2014 was Courage. Did I always live with Courage in 2014? Did I do Courageous things every day? Did I jump out of planes or run through war torn streets dodging bullets like other courageous men and women do on a daily basis? No...absolutely not.

But I lived as courageously as I could for me.

The number one most courageous thing I did in 2014 was to sign up, train for, and complete my first and only marathon. But there were also lots of little courageous things on a daily basis. Sometimes just getting out the door was an act of immense courage! hahaha

I knew at the beginning of the year that choosing a word like Courage didn't mean that the road would be paved with easy moments that encapsulated my word. I knew that it would provide the challenges, and it did. But I courageously tackled each and every one of them. I may not have always wanted to, and there may have been times that I first huddled in the closet trying not to have a mental breakdown, but I eventually inhaled my courage and exhaled my fear and found the strength to face whatever it was.

I think the biggest thing I can take away from Courage during 2014 is that just because I was scared by things that were happening in my life and that it wasn't always easy to handle, that simply finding enough courage to FACE IT - whatever it was - was courage enough. It didn't always mean that it all worked out like sunshine and rainbows or that I was able to stand on the mountaintop and declare victory over all things. It meant that I was scared, but I didn't let it STOP ME.

I have a feeling that when I look back on my words years from now that I will always hold a fondness in my heart for Courage. It was a good word and it helped me accomplish some things that I really didn't think were possible.

So farewell, 2014! And goodbye to Courage as my One Little Word. You have changed my life and I will forever be thankful that YOU chose ME and that I was courageous enough to listen.