Have you ever tried to look for a well laid out plan or blueprint to help you along the path of life? You tried to look at this person or at this particular community for guidance to lead the way, or to help you determine which step to take next, or even if you are going in the right direction? Well, me too, until I got a huge revelation of who I was.

One night I had a dream about traveling to an unknown city. Laid out before me was a blank, life-size map. This map was very unique. It only had enough information on it to guide me to my next destination. The crazy thing about this map was that I had to actually step onto the map to receive my next set of instructions or directions. Once I took the first step, another set of instructions was given to me. When I didn’t take a step, I noticed that there were no next set of instructions given to me. Only when I took the next step I could then see the next steps I should take.

When I awoke from this dream, I began to immediately think about front liners, trendsetters, and leaders. They all have one thing in common…they all take the first steps before others to lead the way. There is no set plan or laid out map for them to follow. They just step out and walk by faith, not by what they can see.

What if Harriett Tubman didn’t take the first step to free the slaves, and waited for someone else to lead the way?

What if Shirley Chisholm did not become the first African-American woman in Congress, but waited for someone else to become the first?

Or Sarah Caldwell, who became the first woman to conduct at New York’s Metropolitan Opera House?

Or Dr. Antonia Novello, who was sworn in as U.S. Surgeon General, becoming the first woman (and first Hispanic) to hold that job?

And what about Viola Davis, the first black woman to win Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series?

Being first can be scary, unsettling, and at times, lonely. The comfort in being a front liner, trendsetter, and leader is that the Almighty will gently lead the way by showing them the next step, but only after they have taken the first. Paths are not laid out for them. They are the path for others to follow.

Question: Are you called to go first?

Article by Marquetta Smith