There are so many times in life that it would be so much easier just to do life, and let that be it. Don’t share it with anyone. Don’t open up to anyone. Just do my own thing by myself, but that isn’t the life that God intends for us to live. He doesn’t desire that for me, and He doesn’t desire that for you. There is so much more to be experienced, and it isn’t on our own.

This brings us to a very interesting place. We have a choice to make. Are we going to play it safe and not let anyone in or are we going to be brave, courageous, and take a chance and let someone into our life? The first choice makes us feel protected and safe, but it’s only just a false illusion of safety. When we make the second choice, it can be a little bit scary and even a bit risky, but it’s the place where we’ll enjoy our journey of life just the way that God intended it.

When we let others into our lives, then there is always the chance that we’re going to end up hurt, wounded, and even rejected. That is always a possibility because we are never guaranteed of how someone else is going to respond, but what if…What if we take the risk and it becomes the greatest decision that we ever made in our life?

When we allow others into that place of the “real” us, then that means that we must be vulnerable. Being vulnerable is the ability to be wounded. That’s not usually a place that we want to visit. We keep people at a distance because we are afraid of being wounded, but just as there is a chance of being wounded, there is a chance that we are going to be loved. There is a safety and beauty in being vulnerable because then and only then are we truly the people God created us to be. We are tearing down walls around our heart to let someone else know the good, the bad, and the ugly about us. When there is vulnerability from both parties, then love, just the way that God designed it, happens.

As I have been on my own special journey over the past year and a half, I’ve had to learn how to be this person of letting others in. I know the risk that I take each and every time I let someone into my life, but I also know how much joy this has brought into my life. I’ve been blessed with some very special relationships where I can be me with no shame or fear for being the person God created me to be.

God has shown me just how important this is as I allow Him to use my story to encourage others. There is a certain vulnerability that must happen when we open up and share our struggles with others. Are they going to listen to me as I pour out my heart, or are they just going to shut down and put a wall around their heart causing me to wish that I’d never shared my heart with them? Yes, that is always the risk that I take, but more times than not, God has taken my ability to be free in who I am to speak life and encouragement to those going through the same things that I’ve faced. He takes what I am pouring out and makes something beautiful of it. Others are able to see that I’m just like they are, facing things that don’t seem right or fair, and allowing God to make the most out of an unfortunate and heartbreaking experience that should have shut me down and taken me out. I love how God takes our availability and blesses it just from being a willing vessel.

So are you going to take the risk and let others into your life? Are you going to take a chance on being vulnerable at the risk of being used, unheard, and misunderstood? There’s always that chance that it won’t be reciprocated back, but there is always the chance that it will. You have a story and beauty inside of you that needs to be shared with others. Take the risk, take the chance, and let God love through you.