We love watching people surprise themselves.

There is shared joy in the experience for both The Surprised and The Viewer of the surprise....and it never gets old.  Of course we are speaking of good surprises....flowers at work, a perfect test score, winning $50 from a scratch off ticket, the newborn that sleeps through the night.  These are pleasant surprises, and they are rad.

And there are surprises that happen right before your eyes as a result of your love and intentionality.  We like to call these type of surprises "revolutionary moments".  And those are more rad.

This weekend the REFIT gals attended the International Christian Wellness Conference in sunny Arizona.  This inaugural conference gathered some serious faith and fitness thought-leaders from across the US for a weekend of re-fueling, and we got to personally experience one of those revolutionary moments.

And her name was Bess.

Bess was a shiny thing from the get go.  Shaking in the hotel lobby, she said she felt "starstruck", and we scratched our heads because this never.makes.sense. Honestly, our hair wasn't washed.  And zero paparazzi were around.  Like none.

Shiny Bess shared that she loved our YouTube videos and had recently started a small studio in her garage.  She said she thought she might teach REFIT, but didn't really know the next steps...or even if she could do it.  And as she uttered those words, we smiled deep in our bellies because we knew something she didn't know.

We knew Bess could do it.

Self-doubt and fear can be one of the cruelest and most paralyzing mindsets we may ever experience.  And, unfortunately, there is a common thread of fear and doubt that prevents the most delightful life surprises.  How is it that we so easily recognize potential and ability in someone else, yet fail to see our own?  How often do we call out that potential in someone else by encouraging them...maybe even pushing them....to do what they think they can't?  Do we look for ways to position people to overcome their can'ts and shouldn'ts?

As Bess took her place on the front  row of her very first LIVE REFIT class, her eyes sparkled.  Remember?  She's shiny.  And then the opportunity came for us to empower Bess to kick her doubt in the face.  We called her up on stage to help lead a song.  And she killed it.  Like, OWNED it.  With the same shiny sparkle as when we first met her....but perhaps even a tad brighter because this was the moment that she realized THAT SHE COULD.

Folks, this is empowerment.  Truth be told, we all possess the ability to impact people in teeny tiny ways.  Ways that can change lives, shift paradigms and karate chop the lies of doubt and fear.  These teeny tiny things are easy:  an encouraging phone call, an authentic smile at the gas station clerk, a lunch invitation to someone you barely know.....or a hand reaching into the audience to pull Bess on stage.  These things matter and, more importantly, these things are needed.

Who is your Bess?

Go find her.

Grab her by the hands, look into her eyes and say, "Yes. You. Can."

And watch a revolutionary moment happen right before your eyes.

And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together...but encouraging one another, and all the more as you  see the day drawing near.     Hebrews 10:24-25