My aunt gave me the best pep talk I’ve ever had, and it changed everything. It was the summer before I started the ninth grade. Anxiety about the new school I would be attending was eating me up. I was having nightmares.

My aunt pulled me aside one day because she could see I was struggling. She listened to me carefully. I was worried about the unfamiliar format. Instead of being in one classroom with one teacher all day, I’d be expected to go from room to room to room with different teachers for different subjects. I was sure I would get lost or forget where I was supposed to be.

After I was done talking, she told me a story. She said when she was my age, she had been so overwhelmed by high school that she spent her entire first day in the bathroom. Then my aunt said, “No matter what happens, I know you’ll do better than I did.” Then she told me I was smart, that I can be confident and brave. And if things go awry, I can just call her, and she’ll come get me.

I stopped worrying so much. I knew I could do better than a day cowering in the bathroom. It doesn’t matter whether what my aunt told me was true. Knowing she supported me helped me face my fears with confidence.

“Be alert, stand firm in the faith,  be courageous,  be strong.” (1 Corinthians‬ ‭16‬:‭13,‬ ‭CSB‬‬)

The Bible is one giant pep talk. It has plenty of stories of people failing to live up to expectations but still being used and loved by God. I can do better than Joseph’s brothers who threw him in a pit then sold him as a slave. I can do better than David when he slept with a loyal soldier’s wife then had the man killed to hide his sin. Hopefully, I can do better than a lot of the flawed people in the Bible. But the most beautiful part of the Bible’s pep talk is that no matter what happens, all I have to do is call on God, and He will pick me up with love and forgiveness.

Dear God, thank you for all the encouraging words and stories you provide in the Bible. Remind me to spend time every day studying it and absorbing your love and wisdom. Thank you for your promise of forgiveness when I fail which gives me confidence to keep trying to live well, with love and bold generosity.