Embracing Who God Made Us to Be: Brave Words from an Asian American Sister
By Susan Park
God's Brave Women - Susan's Story
I remember the early morning darkness alone in my hotel room as God gently asked me, “Susan, I am calling you to be a writer. Can you point your writing to Me?” God asked me this question on an October morning in 2019. At that time, I was attending the Declare Conference in Texas. That moment of intimacy with God became an invitation to walk hand in hand with Him and to create with Him on this adventurous writing journey. However, since that morning, there were many times I doubted myself. Accepting God’s invitation pulled me out of my comfort zone of writing privately and keeping my thoughts to myself. God called me to use my voice through my writing to glorify Him and to encourage others.
But as someone who is highly sensitive and wears my heart on my sleeve, this calling seemed like a tall order from God. I was scared of what others might think of me after they read my writing or what kind of criticisms I may receive. I felt like the writing journey wasn’t for the faint of heart, especially for someone like me.
"I was scared of what others might think of me after they read my writing or what kind of criticisms I may receive. I felt like the writing journey wasn’t for the faint of heart, especially for someone like me."
When I was a young girl, I didn’t feel “faint of heart” to jump off the high diving board at the community pool. The anticipation and thrill of jumping off the high dive motivated me to climb the tall ladder. As I stood on the diving board, I jumped without any hesitation. The mid-air excitement gave me a rush as I splashed into the twelve feet of deep water. I swam myself to the surface and did it over and over again under the hot summer sun. This brave act of jumping from the high dive didn’t happen overnight. What led me to this act of courage was a series of small brave moments of showing up. The numerous swimming lessons I showed up for taught me to swim in shallow water. Eventually, I learned to swim in deep water. Before I jumped from the high diving board, I learned to jump from the low diving board. All of these brave moments added up. They helped me jump from a place without fear and enjoy the adventure of flying high above the blue water.<