We’ve all been there at some point or another. New job, new church, new school, new neighborhood—what we know and what is familiar and safe is coming to a close and the horizon holds a shiny new idea for us to grab ahold of.

The thing is, we have to first let go in order to grasp anew. And that can be the hardest part.

When that ‘letting go’ is your decision to make, it can seem like standing at the edge of a vast precipice, parachute ready, safety checks completed, but you’ve got to take the jump. No one is going to take it for you. You know it’s right. You’ve wrapped your head around this obstacle a hundred times and every angle points to the same place. It’s time to step out.

Starting something new is hard. It’s scary. And it is a lot of work. I’ve been a Floridian all of my life. The unpredictable tropical weather and sandy tile floors were all I had ever known. Growing up near Miami, I used to think that the idea of seasonal foliage was just another fairy tale. I thought autumn was a myth. After growing up, getting married, having a few kids, and really thriving as we lived near family and enjoyed a wonderful circle of friends, God made it clear that he had different plans.

“You’ve wrapped your head around this obstacle a hundred times and every angle points to the same place. It’s time to step out.”

Imagine my reservations when all signs, all answered prayers, and all confirmations led us to pick up our little family and move to Greer, SC; where there was no job lined up, no family, and no beach. We didn’t know a living, breathing soul, and there was this annual possibility of something called s-n-o-w.

It felt a lot like running away from home and reminds me a lot of Jacob in Genesis. There is this moment near the end of Chapter 27 when Jacob finds out that his brother Esau is so angry with him that he wants to kill him. Jacob’s mother urges him to flee. Whether Jacob deserves this consequence isn’t for me to say, and how he actually feels as he weighs his choices, we will never know. But if you’ve ever experienced the anxiety of knowing that tomorrow is going to turn your entire world upside down, for better or worse, and choosing to take that jump anyway, then you know what Jacob must have felt he was up against. And that he felt he had to go.

“Set aside fears. Get rid of expectations. Open our hearts. Step out and look up.”

Staying in Florida wasn’t going to lead to our demise. And my mother was not urging us to leave. But we knew that staying would be a direct defiance to our Father who knows how our stories end. He was the one saying, “Now then, my children, do what I say.” We had to just trust in him. Set aside fears. Get rid of expectations. Open our hearts. Step out and look up.

If I could have written a story of what my life would look like just four years after moving away, I never could have imagined a more beautiful, more blessed, more incredible journey that has been well worth the taking every single day.

Whether you are starting something brand new, welcoming someone new into your home, or otherwise heading into unfamiliar territory, rest in knowing that if God is calling your name and you can feel his presence beside you urging you to step out, then there is no greater safety in staying right where you are.