Aug 22| The Permission You've Been Waiting For (But Never Needed)
Look, I'm going to tell you something that took me forty years to learn, and honestly, I'm still learning it: You're allowed to be a work in progress. Not just allowed—you're supposed to be.
Here's the thing that nobody talks about: Everyone you admire, everyone who seems to have it all together, everyone whose life looks perfect from the outside? They're all making it up as they go along. Every single one of them. And the sooner you realize this, the sooner you can stop waiting for permission to start living your actual life.
The Myth of the Finished Person
Can I be honest? I used to think there was this moment—maybe at 25, or 30, or when you get married, or have kids, or buy a house—when you suddenly transform into a "real adult." When the uncertainty goes away. When you stop feeling like you're pretending to know what you're doing.
That moment doesn't exist.
I know 70-year-olds who are still figuring out who they want to be when they grow up. I know CEOs who feel like imposters in every board meeting. I know parents who Google "how to parent" at 2 AM while their kid is crying in the next room. And you know what? That's not failure. That's being human.
The problem isn't that we're all works in progress. The problem is that we've been taught to be ashamed of it.
Your Mess Is Your Credential
Here's what changes everything: Your struggles aren't disqualifying you from the life you want—they're preparing you for it. Every mistake you've made, every time you've fallen flat on your face, every moment you've thought "I can't do this"—those aren't detours from your path. They are your path.
Think about it. Who do you trust more: someone who's never failed at anything, or someone who's failed spectacularly and learned how to get back up? Who can offer better advice about overcoming anxiety: someone who's never felt it, or someone who's wrestled with it and found ways through?
Your mess is your message. Your tests become your testimony. Your struggles become your strength. But only—and this is crucial—only if you stop trying to hide them.
The Beautiful Truth About Starting Where You Are
Okay, stay with me here, because this is where it gets interesting. You know that thing you've been putting off because you're "not ready yet"? That dream you're postponing until you're more qualified, more confident, more... something?
What if I told you that "ready" is a myth?
Nobody who ever did anything meaningful felt ready when they started. They just started anyway. They wrote bad first drafts. They fumbled through awkward first dates. They stammered through job interviews. They posted content that nobody saw. They opened businesses that almost failed. They said "I love you" with their hearts pounding.
The magic isn't in being ready. The magic is in being willing to be bad at something long enough to get good at it.
The Compound Effect of Small Brave Choices
Here's something nobody tells you about change: It doesn't happen in the dramatic moments. It happens in the tiny, almost invisible choices you make every single day.
Choosing to drink water instead of scrolling through your phone first thing in the morning
Deciding to text that friend you've been thinking about
Taking five minutes to write in a journal, even if all you write is "I don't know what to write"
Saying "no" to something that drains you, even if it disappoints someone
Saying "yes" to something that scares you, even if you might fail
These choices seem insignificant in the moment. But compound them over weeks, months, years? That's how you become someone you're proud to be. Not through transformation, but through accumulation. One small brave choice at a time.
Why Your Future Self Is Already Cheering You On
This is where it gets really good. Picture yourself five years from now. That future version of you? They're not judging your current struggles. They're not rolling their eyes at your mistakes. They're not frustrated by your pace.
They're grateful. Deeply, profoundly grateful.
Because every single thing you're going through right now is shaping you into them. Every challenge you face is developing a strength they'll need. Every lesson you're learning the hard way is wisdom they'll carry. Every time you choose to keep going when you want to quit, you're building the resilience that will define them.
Your future self isn't waiting for you to be perfect. They're cheering you on to be persistent.
The Permission Slip You Can Write Yourself
So here's my question for you: What if you gave yourself permission to be exactly where you are while moving toward where you want to be?
What if you stopped apologizing for being a beginner? What if you stopped waiting to be chosen and chose yourself? What if you stopped hiding your struggles and started sharing your journey? What if you stopped comparing your Chapter 3 to someone else's Chapter 20?
Because here's the truth that changes everything: The permission you've been waiting for? You're the only one who can give it.
The Most Important Thing I Can Tell You
If you take nothing else from this, take this: Your worth isn't determined by your productivity. Your value isn't measured by your achievements. Your significance isn't dependent on having it all figured out.
You matter because you exist. You have something to offer because you've lived through things. You have wisdom because you've made mistakes. You have strength because you've survived every single bad day you've ever had.
And that voice in your head that says you're behind, you're not enough, you should be further along by now? That voice is lying. You're exactly where you need to be to become who you're meant to be.
Start Today, Start Messy, Start Anyway
Look, I don't know what you're facing right now. I don't know what mountains feel impossible to climb or what dreams feel too far to reach. But I know this: The only difference between where you are and where you want to be is the willingness to take the next small step. Not the perfect step. Not the confident step. Just the next step.
Your future isn't written yet. It's not predetermined by your past mistakes or current circumstances. It's created by the choices you make from this moment forward.
So make the call. Send the email. Start the project. Have the conversation. Take the class. Ask for help. Offer forgiveness. Choose yourself.
Not tomorrow. Not when you're ready. Not when you have more time, money, confidence, or clarity.
Today. Messy. Imperfect. Human.
Because the truth is, everybody's making it up as they go along. The only difference is that some people have given themselves permission to do it openly, bravely, and with a little bit of grace for the journey.
Maybe it's time you joined them.
Maybe it's time you realized that the permission you've been waiting for has been yours to give all along.
What small brave choice will you make today? Not next week, not when things calm down, but today? Share it if you want—sometimes saying it out loud makes it real. But even if you keep it to yourself, make it. Your future self is already thanking you.
An Invitation to go Deeper….
If today’s message spoke to you, join the FaithLabz 30-Day Prayer Challenge and strengthen your connection with God’s unshakable love. You are never alone—let’s grow together!
