☀️ The Nicole Magnusson Newsletter

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📆 Daily Issue 27 | ⏱️ Read time: 2 min

Through the Fire

I’m at a crossroads in life.

I have two options: go through this challenge, or turn back.

The path forward is TERRIFYING.

I will have to work harder than I’ve ever worked.

I will have to feel feelings I’ve repressed my whole life.

And I will have to unpack trauma that I’ve left in a nice little box.

I want to pick the first option: I want to go through this challenge. I don’t want to run away.

But I’m scared that I’m not strong enough.

I will need to become a powerful “football lineman” version of myself, plowing through obstacles. And I can’t help but wonder… is this powerhouse woman really inside me?

As I contemplate my readiness, I realize that more than the strength and hard work required… I’m terrified of who I will become on the other side of this.

Challenges are sort of like little baptisms sent by the universe.

I was baptized recently and they handed me a large black T-shirt afterward that said “MADE NEW”. After the year I’ve had, I think God should hand those out every time we go through a challenging circumstance.

The parts of us that cannot make it through the challenge die and the parts of us that survive the challenge are strengthened.

And THIS is how God works on us, chipping away at all the aspects of us that are not serving our future vision. God molds us through every heartbreak, challenge, and grieving process.

As my favorite author, Glennon Doyle says: “First the pain, then the rising”.

For those of us brave enough to stay with our pain, there are blessings on the other side. And one of those blessings is the person we become.

So if you’re going through a challenging time, try to get to a place where you can praise God for this opportunity and surrender.

Surrender to the fact that you’ll be meeting someone completely foreign to you on the other side.

Surrender to the fact that this person may or may not fit the mold of who you thought you’d become.

And surrender to the fact that you will have to leave behind parts of yourself you grew attached to.

Everything your soul has been calling for is on the other side of walking through this fire.

I believe in you. And I’m right there with you.

Keep inspiring,

Nicole