Braving the Unknown: Walking Out of Our Comfort Zone and onto the Water with Jesus

My friend, Becky Beresford invited me to write a guest blog post for her blog. Becky is an incredibly talented writer, speaker, and blogger. For over two years, she’s invited women to write their stories of bravery on her blog. You can catch a glimpse of my story below or read the full post here.

God’s Brave Women – Kate’s Story

As a kid, I think I just assumed that adults had it all figured out—life, relationships, careers, parenting, and everything in between. In my parents, I saw two people I thought were living with such certainty. They knew how to build a beautiful marriage, how to raise four happy and healthy kids, how to run their business, and how to discern a right decision from a wrong one. But now I’m almost 30 and completely convinced that our lives are just one step after the other into the unknown.

I haven’t been great at unknowns. I’d like to blame my fear on my three brothers, who took turns hiding in my closet or under my bed, but it’s so much bigger than them. It’s a fear of stepping into the impossible, of falling and failing, of making the wrong decision. Too often, I let these fears hold me back—exchanging comfort for the place God is calling me to walk.

Stepping into a new Place

In 2017, the Father asked me to step into the unknown in ways I had never imagined. I was working in communications and graphic design at my home church. It was a safe job—predictable and known in so many ways. Like He often does, the Lord shook me from my comfort and asked me to trust Him. Instead of continuing to plan and dream for my future in a town so close to my family and friends, the Father put a new dream on my heart—move to Mae Sot, Thailand to write a book we could use in ministry on the border of Thailand and Burma.

Talk about the unknown.

I’d never fundraised before. I’d never lived in a foreign country outside of short-term trips and vacations. I’d never co-authored a book. I knew little about Thai or Burmese cultures. So, when the Father called me to this place, of course, I felt excited but also crazy fearful.

A few weeks into life in Thailand, the Father gave me a vision. In it, I saw Jesus standing in a meadow, arms outstretched—an invitation to join Him. I walked to him, dancing with Him in the tall grass, the solid ground, but as we twirled around and around, the solid ground turned to water. We were dancing on the waves—deep in the unknown. But we danced together.