The Thrill and Terror of Launching: Lift Off

Launch day!   A moment filled with excitement and fear.

Excitement after a year of strategizing, writing and designing this blog.

Fear that now I’m committed.  I’m putting my ideas out there to help and be criticized.

I worry, “Can I keep this up?  Will I run out of posts?  Will I fail?”

Photo by DLR/ Thilo Kranz

I’ve written before with encouraging responses.  I’ve had published articles and guest posts.  I also wrote a blog for a year with some success.

But this is different.  This feels more determined, more committed, bigger.

I’ve been here before.  I’ve launched new businesses and helped resurrect a dying church.  Each was successful but took an immense toll emotionally and physically.  They were draining and challenging but also rewarding.

I’ve written all my life, yet never accomplished what I wanted.  Everyday busyness always got in the way.

So when some other responsibilities dropped off a year ago I thought and prayed about where I wanted to spend that extra time.

I fought it for a while but my heart kept telling me to write.  It’s time to give it my best shot.  And if it succeeds, whatever that means, it does.  And if it doesn’t I will have tried.  I won’t look back and wonder, “What if?”

So here I am launching the journey.

I’m happy with the results so far.  The site has come together.  The ebook is written and expresses where I’m trying to go and why it will benefit my readers.

So it’s time to step once more into the unknown, excited and fearful.

The writer of Hebrews says, “Let’s throw off everything that hinders and so easily entangles us so we can run with perseverance the race laid out for us.” (Hebrews 12:1)

We can only win our race when we run unhindered.

Maybe you’ve put off a launch of your own.  You’ve felt excited yet terrified at the thought of launching.

You have a dream.  You’ve dabbled with it.  It creeps into your mind when you’re relaxed and least expecting it.

Occasionally you’ve thought seriously about launching into it.  But there are all the responsibilities of everyday life.  So it gets shelved again, pushed off to the future.  Yet it gnaws inside of you and just never goes away.

I’m not here to tell you if or when you should launch.  But I am telling you those dreams may be put inside you by God.  He created you for purpose.  He has a race for you to run and win.  So don’t bury the dream.  Let it out into the sunshine.  Examine it.  Fantasize about it.

Because when you finally launch you’ll discover some amazing things.

You’ll feel more alive than perhaps you ever have.  God stirs up a spiritual vitality when we live in his plan.  You’ll have an energy and excitement that’s different.

You’ll sense God’s presence at a depth perhaps you’ve never experienced.  You’ll know he’s there with you.  Often you’ll need that.

You’ll see God’s mysterious leading.  The right answer just when you need it.  Aggravatingly often not before.  And often in the most unlikely way.

You’ll find satisfaction and contentment.  You’re in your zone doing what you were made for.

And yes you’ll be scared at times.

But you can get past that.  We’ll talk more about how in the next post.

When have you launched into the unknown?  What happened?  What did it feel like?