Doing Hard Things - Step Out of Your Comfort Zone

 We have been hard at work just lately getting our basement a little more finished.

We (Ken mostly) finished hanging the little odds and ends of drywall that still needed to go up. Then came my job.....

Mudding and taping all the drywall. Ken had done that in the basement of our last house and said "Never Again" but since we like to save money and do things ourselves when we can I said that I would give it a go this time.

   Yes I did all the mudding with my eyes closed - wouldn't you do it that way too? Just kidding - of the pictures taken, this was the least blurry and so naturally my eyes were closed in it too. :-)

   Mudding and taping is where the stepping out of my comfort zone came in. Sure, I said I would do it but I had never done it before, I have heard that it is hard to do at least if you want it to look good and I actually felt rather overwhelmed by it. The project got put off for quite a while but then deadlines for getting it done approached and I just jumped in and got started. And I discovered, as it seems like I always do when I work on a project that seems overwhelming, that it wasn't all that hard. It isn't like it was super easy or quick - it did require work, figuring things out and diligence to get the job done - but overall it was doable.

Here are some reasons why I think it is good to step out of your comfort zone every once and a while and do something that seems hard to you:

• You can learn something new.
• You develop confidence. Each time you try something new and it works out you become more and more confident that will also happen in future times.
• You are a good example to your children. If they are going to grow and mature then they constantly have to be learning new things and doing things that seem hard for them. 
• You may be able to inspire others.
• Even if it seems like you fail, you can grow from it and realize that God might use that "failing" in a way that you never dreamed.

Thinking on this subject made me think of this verse....

Philippians 1:12-14

"12 Now I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has actually served to advance the gospel. 13 As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ. 14 And because of my chains, most of the brothers and sisters have become confident in the Lord and dare all the more to proclaim the gospel without fear."

I think that Paul had to do hard things on a regular basis. At the time of this writing the hard things that he was doing had landed him in jail. But I just think it is super cool that he didn't let that get him down and his Brothers and Sisters in Christ were inspired to also do hard things because they realized that they didn't have to be afraid. Our God is bigger and mightier than any chains - whatever sort of chains they might be. 

We can practice doing hard things on simple things like home improvement projects and then use those skills we have learned to serve God fearlessly and with passion!