I stared at the blank piece of paper

wondering where to begin. This was many years ago.

Deep within my heart there was a story that needed to be written;

an article that asked to be created

but

the very thought

of writing an entire article intimidated me.

You see, I had never written anything before

and I was scared.

Scared of what?

Failing, perhaps.

Doing a mediocre job.

Who knows, but I remember feeling paralzyed.

Then those powerful words came to my mind

and sank deep within my spirit.

If you try, you might fail.

But if you never try, you’ll never know.

So with that in mind I began to write –

I knew that I might fail

But if I didn’t even try I’d never know.

I wrote it in one sitting, slipped it in an envelope

along with a return stamped envelope

and mailed it out.

Done!

Satisfaction!

Peace! Gave it my best !

God must have known what my tentative spirit needed.

In days I received an acceptance letter.

Shining moments all around

The check that I got a few days later was only the icing on the cake.

I was a writer.

I was in His service.

Whether I never had anything else to be accepted for publication

I knew that I had tried and succeeded.

What about you?

If you don’t try, you’ll never know.

If you do try, you might fail.

But isn’t failure more about never trying than achieving a certain standard of perfection.

I never knew that I could ride a horse

until I tried. And then I worked very hard to learn more skills.

If you try, you might fail.

Mail out the manuscript. Click off that story. Write the poem. Create the song.

You never know.

You never know what you are capable of doing

Until you try. You never know what God will do through you until you try.

So let’s try, dear friends.

The time is now.

I’m trying – Will you?