Brave?
Our oldest’s choir sang this the other night and the girls have sung it in the car a time or two since.
Today, the words really struck me.
Whether it’s my midwestern-ish upbringing or I’m just a coward, the idea of speaking up or having hard conversations that I feel will offend, or even just simply disappoint someone terrifies me.
And when someone pushes me that direction, the frustration and anger make me shake.
Why does some ones approval matter so much to me?
And why is is so hard to risk the fracturing of an already fragile relationship with speaking the truth?
When “speaking the truth in love” seems impossible, I’d rather keep my head down and let the storm pass by.
“Brave” by Sara Bareilles
“You can be amazing
You can turn a phrase into a weapon or a drug
You can be the outcast
Or be the backlash of somebody’s lack of love
Or you can start speaking up
Nothing’s gonna hurt you the way that words do
When they settle ‘neath your skin
Kept on the inside and no sunlight
Sometimes a shadow wins
But I wonder what would happen if you
Say what you wanna say
And let the words fall out
Honestly, I wanna see you be brave
With what you want to say
And let the words fall out
Honestly, I wanna see you be brave
Everybody’s been there
Everybody’s been stared down by the enemy
Fallen for the fear
And done some disappearing
Bow down to the mighty
Don’t run, stop holding your tongue
Maybe there’s a way out of the cage where you live
Maybe one of these days you can let the light in
Show me how big your brave is
Say what you wanna say
And let the words fall out
Honestly, I wanna see you be brave
With what you want to say
And let the words fall out
Honestly, I wanna see you be brave
And since your history of silence
Won’t do you any good
Did you think it would?
Let your words be anything but empty
Why don’t you tell them the truth?
Say what you wanna say
And let the words fall out
Honestly, I wanna see you be brave
With what you want to say
And let the words fall out
Honestly, I wanna see you be brave.”
