Reclaiming the Space I Was Always Meant to Occupy

I Belong Here. You see, I don’t fear being truthful with myself. Actually, I’d argue my life didn’t begin to change until I started calling myself out on the same old bull crap that had me chained to a past I carried more shame in than pride. So yes, I’m honest with me… even about the hard things.

For too long, I lived imprisoned however, not by walls, but by the fear of getting it wrong. The fear of being misunderstood, misjudged, mislabeled. And in that fear, I forfeited something sacred: My right to be exactly where I was called to be.

Not because I lacked purpose. But because somewhere along the way, I started confusing silence with safety and shrinking with humility.

My truth was not wrong. But the echoes of misunderstanding bounced off the walls of my memory so loudly, I could no longer distinguish rejection from redirection. Correction began to feel like condemnation. And that’s when I began to hide.

Behind the smile. Behind dumbing myself down. Behind the “I’m fine” when I was anything but. Behind the watered-down version of myself I thought was easier to digest.

The dreams God planted in me—The ones rooted deep, entwined in generational healing, silent prayers, and sacred longing—I called them childish. Unrealistic. A grandiose imagination not worthy of pursuit.

Because when you’ve been told enough times to “tone it down,” “quiet up,” “wait your turn,” you start to believe maybe your voice was never needed in the first place.

But here’s the plot twist: The dreams never died. They waited for me to remember that obedience is greater than perfection, that healing speaks louder than shame, and that true belonging isn’t earned by fitting in.

So now I rise. Not because I have it all figured out, but because I’m done shrinking in spaces God told me to occupy.

I speak now not for applause, but to silence the lie that said I needed permission to be powerful.

I’m reclaiming every dream that was called “too much"—a lie I started to believe. Every vision buried in the graveyard of insecurity. Every part of me I abandoned just to make someone else comfortable.

I don’t belong in the background. I belong here. Fully seen. Fully heard. Fully free.

“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.”

— 2 Timothy 1:7 (NKJV)

Let this be your reminder: Shrinking doesn’t make you more holy, hiding doesn’t make you more humble, and your calling doesn’t require anyone else’s comfort!

Are you also guilty of playing small in spaces God has called you to rise in? Take 10 minutes today to write down one dream you’ve buried—and ask yourself why. Then ask God to help you resurrect it with boldness.

Ready to reclaim what you gave up? Share your story in the comments—your voice just might unlock someone else’s freedom.