You Can Do This!

Philippians 4:13: I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.

Last week, for those of you who wanted to join in, our assignment was to write down our greatest passions, and word them as if we were already doing/having or being it. When you started writing about what your ideal life would look like, did you question your ability to see it through? Did you hear an inner voice that was not your friend…that little devil that sits on our shoulder and gnaws at our dreams; that creepy fiend that tries to sabotage our ideal life? He will lure us into false believes….. we’re not good enough, fit enough, smart enough, young enough, old enough, or beautiful enough……

I received a phone call from one of my daughters last week. It began something like this, “What was I thinking? Who do I think I am? I must have been crazy when I thought I could compete in a triathlon! What if I drown, what if I fall off my bike, what if I make a fool of myself? I must have been out of my mind to believe I was capable of doing this!”

The upcoming Olympic triathlon was to be my daughter’s first …. Standing 5’ 5’’ tall and weighing in at just east of 100 pounds, Heidi is a wisp of a thing … not someone that strikes you as being a powerhouse athlete. I smiled as I heard her voice on the line, “Mom, why couldn’t I have just been satisfied with running! I have a one year old baby at home, for goodness sakes, and a two year old child! What made me think I had any business signing up for something like this?”

Are you hearing similar doubts as you wonder about your dreams coming true? How dare I ask for more, dream for better, say I’m not satisfied with the life and the blessings that God has already given me? Do you question your intentions…? I’m being selfish, ungrateful, spoiled to want all this… shouldn’t I just be happy with what I already have, what I already do, who I already am? Shouldn’t that be enough?

My daughter's uncertain voice continued…“Do you know what swimming a mile in open water is like? It’s one thing to do 100 laps at the YMCA, it’s another thing to stand on the edge of the open water and barely be able to even see the mile marker in the far off distance. Mom, people can be ruthless in these competitions, what if I get knocked in the teeth, kicked in the mouth, pulled under? There’s no place to swim to and hang on to…what if the rescue boat doesn’t see me going down?

How about you...As you wrote your passions, did you quickly erase them and rewrite something more cautious?  Did you tone back your expectations a bit because if felt safer? It’s one thing to want a better life; it’s quite another thing to take a risk to get there, isn’t it?  The authors of The Passion Test shared this.  “Have you ever noticed people who play it safe aren’t at all as enthusiastic, energetic, full of passion, on fire, and excited about their lives as your friends who dance around on the edge and totally go for their dream?"

...Two days later I picked up the phone and immediately heard Heidi's
exhilaration. She told me how she had gotten off to a good start with her swimming...how she could hear her husband’s voice shouting from the crowd as she made the transition from each race. “You’re still in this…wake up!” He kept urging her on. “You can do this, Heidi!  Wake up…move, move, move….you’re still in this thing!”

Maybe this thing for us is a life lived with passion. It doesn’t matter how old we are, what our current health is, how many times we’ve tried and failed, or what our past looks like. …We’re still in this thing...we can do this!”

My daughter glanced down at her watch in the final transition from biking to running. She saw that she would need to finish the next 6.3 miles, running her personal best in order to finish under three hours. She said, “That’s my personal best without first swimming a mile, and then biking for another 25! It just didn’t seem possible!”

Do your dreams seem impossible too? Is your ideal life only a fantasy? Do you think you have set the bar too high because you’ve never been able to reach it before?

The phone was almost dripping adrenaline by now as Heidi's excitement rose …. “I was only a minute from being out of 3^rdplace, Mom, I actually belonged in this race...And I made it to the finish line in less than three hours!” "That’s awesome!" I cried. "What a great accomplishment! What was your inspiration? What got you through it?" She was quick with her reply, "My inspiration is from the Bible; Philippians 4:13: 'I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.'

Lest we believe that living a life on fire, one full of passion, hope and promise cannot be achieved….. Oh doubting Thomas’ that we are…have we not at least the faith the size of a mustard seed? Does God not promise that He is on our side, that He is our strength, that He will see us through? Whether it’s a triathlon, a marathon, that career we’ve always wanted, the relationship that we’ve longed for, or that mountain we dare to climb; keep heading towards it…. we're not alone......Move, move, move; we’re still in this thing!  We can do this!”

Now listen to this inspiring story (as I watch the video and see the dad carrying his son …. It portrays such a powerful picture to me of how God also carries us). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64A_AJjj8M4


Email me at: smallsteps4bigresults@yahoo.com