In darkness, there is fear.
Not of the dark but of the unknown. A fear of what is lurking in the darkness.

I stood on the stage, engulfed in the light. Only me and the story I had to tell. A story of being terrified and showing up anyway. A story that honors the courage required to just be who you are in that moment.  Behind the light was darkness. In the darkness — I don’t know. There could’ve been judgement and snickering, but all I could see was the light.

⁴ In him was life,^[a] and the life was the light of men. ⁵ The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. John 1:4-5

The darkness did not overcome the light. What was in that darkness, I’ll never know. But I know what was in the light.

In the light my fear yielded to courage.
In the light was authenticity.
In the light was love.
In the light I stood on the shoulders of everyone who has loved me into being.
And in the light was every moment that led to my standing barefoot on the stage.
Every moment  I allowed my fear to win. Every moment self-doubt spoke more loudly than courage. Every moment a harsh word was spoken to or about me. Every moment I did not choose kindness. And every moment I looked fear in the eyes and said, “Not today”.

Shalom.