I’m a cautious person by nature. I often avoid things because I’m afraid of getting hurt or looking like a fool. I once didn’t speak to someone who told me they had feelings for me for weeks because I didn’t know how to handle it. So yeah, I’m a lot of fun.

There have been a handful of times in life where I felt the walls of insecurity and fear fall suddenly. After traveling little in my 16 years of life, I heard a speaker from a mission organization and decided that night I was meant to go on a 6 week trip to Nepal. After months of applying to a half dozen Christian private colleges, I felt a peace that I was meant to go to the one public school I had applied to. I had no intention of going to Auburn University until I changed my mind a week before the national decision deadline. Though I had never dated and I was terrified of breakups, when my now husband asked me on a date, I felt an almost immediate peace about it.

I’ve come to the conclusion that God speaks to me primarily through giving me peace in a situation. Decisions are stressful and I’m not particularly good at making them, but when I feel an unexplainable calmness, often contrary to what I think I should be feeling, He is leading me in His perfect way.

In these times, I trusted that God was showing me His plan for me and I somehow felt little fear, even when the rest of my life was caught up in anxiety or despair.

Take leaps and listen for His presence when the decisions are looming and you can’t do it on your own. He may speak to you differently, but if you’ve never known how God communicates with you, take a moment to look back on big life moments and how you knew which step to take.