I am Me --- I am Strong (but sometimes I'm not)
It seems that recently I have had quite a few people tell me how strong they feel I am, and I never quite know how to respond. In the silence that follows the statement, I'm thinking of all of the reasons - all of the circumstances - all of the life experiences I have gone through to make me that way.
Famous last words (from around the time God called me into ministry [in the year 2000], while sitting on my bathroom floor in England - because that is the only "quiet" a mother of 2 small boys gets):
"Wouldn't it be great if I could learn from the life experiences of others, instead of having to walk any of the hard stuff out myself?" Ha! I feel like I might as well have said, "Lord, open up the floodgates of adversity and dump them on my head!" At the ripe age of 28 I had no idea what was about to come, the journey I was embarking on or the challenges that lay ahead.
Yes, somedays I am strong. I can feel the hard won strength coursing through my veins... and then there are days that I just don't.
You see the challenges of life bring strength, but also bring other things we have to war against within ourselves. If we don't the strength can easily (and quickly) turn to bitterness. Bitterness roots itself deep within our hearts. BUT, if we choose to fight - we can win the day.
The challenges of my life have brought me:
Strength and sometimes weakness
A love for people and sometimes jadedness
A strong faith and sometimes doubt
Wisdom and sometimes paranoia
That, my friends is life. It is up to us what we do with it.
Here is a bit of a rabbit trail for you (but there really is a point - let's hope I can bring it back around in the end):
The day and age we live in demands that we know ourselves - be self-aware! (I believe it has it's place - that it is good to know the person God created you to be - but, as with all things, it can be taken too far.) What is your DISC, Meyers-Briggs, Enneagram, Strength Finder, Spiritual Gifts, Values, etc. number, letter, word, etc... And I know all of mine! Here is Me in a nutshell of quizzes:
That's great! I am Me - the Me that God created me to be. Whoohoo! I read the definitions of these things and they make sense to me. The Enneagram - which seems to be all the rage right now - is the most fascinating to me. Instead of being like all the others that tell you the positive things about you, the Enneagram tells you all the negative (with just enough positive to, hopefully, keep you from beating yourself up too badly after reading it). My #6 is a deep thinker - prone to anxious thought and self-doubt - yes. Yes I am. But how glad am I that I have hope laced through my life - and faith that (sometimes) moves mountains. I don't have to live in the negative. With the help of the Holy Spirit I can live a life of STRENGTH. I can be all of the good things He has created me to be - because I am His and He is ever growing me into the Daughter He created me to be. How great is that!
(Bringing it back around)
The challenges of my life have made me strong that is true, but I am strong because I learned how to fight well. I have "beat my physical body into submission" through regular vigorous (sweaty) exercise to make it strong, and it is the same with my "spiritual body". I have to discipline it to be what it needs to be. So what is it? A warrior princess - Daughter of the King of kings. He has taught me through my struggles to know when the battle is supposed to be fought, and when I'm supposed to walk away. I have waged war against the enemy of my soul and tucked myself in tightly under my Father's arm to wait out the storm. I have gained wisdom from the experiences and faith from watching my Father be faithful.
So what about the times that I'm not strong or I'm jaded or doubts are overwhelming me or maybe I'm a bit paranoid? Well, dear ones... I run to my Father and to ones who have walked the path before me (this is tough for this introvert, but I'm learning). I seek Godly counsel and I pray. I quiet my soul (so I can hear Him over the voices in my head) and I purge the lies of the enemy with a flood of the truth of His Word.
John 16:33 comes to mind. Jesus tells us, "In this world you will have trouble, but take heart I have overcome the world."
Because He has already overcome the world I can overcome (through the power of the Holy Spirit at work in me) the jadedness, weakness, doubt and paranoia that seek to overwhelm my heart, and so can you, dear one. So can you!
The road to "being strong" is a long, hard one, but it is worth every step you take. It is a lot like climbing a mountain. I climbed Pike's Peak (America's Mountain) a couple of years ago and it was hard, but now I see it differently than I did before I climbed it. Before it was just another mountain, now I have respect for it and the challenge it presented to me. Climbing that mountain was worth the struggles that came along with it... walking the road to strength is the same - very much WORTH IT.
Dear Jesus, thank You that we overcome by Your precious blood spilled out and the word of our testimony - all the amazing things You have done in our lives. May we be the bold warriors - the Children of the King of kings - that You created us to be. May we use the strength You have given us to win the day in our own lives and win others to You in the world around us. May it be gentle and kind and fierce and loyal always to You. In Your Name, Amen.
Famous last words (from around the time God called me into ministry [in the year 2000], while sitting on my bathroom floor in England - because that is the only "quiet" a mother of 2 small boys gets):
"Wouldn't it be great if I could learn from the life experiences of others, instead of having to walk any of the hard stuff out myself?" Ha! I feel like I might as well have said, "Lord, open up the floodgates of adversity and dump them on my head!" At the ripe age of 28 I had no idea what was about to come, the journey I was embarking on or the challenges that lay ahead.
Yes, somedays I am strong. I can feel the hard won strength coursing through my veins... and then there are days that I just don't.
You see the challenges of life bring strength, but also bring other things we have to war against within ourselves. If we don't the strength can easily (and quickly) turn to bitterness. Bitterness roots itself deep within our hearts. BUT, if we choose to fight - we can win the day.
The challenges of my life have brought me:
Strength and sometimes weakness
A love for people and sometimes jadedness
A strong faith and sometimes doubt
Wisdom and sometimes paranoia
That, my friends is life. It is up to us what we do with it.
Here is a bit of a rabbit trail for you (but there really is a point - let's hope I can bring it back around in the end):
The day and age we live in demands that we know ourselves - be self-aware! (I believe it has it's place - that it is good to know the person God created you to be - but, as with all things, it can be taken too far.) What is your DISC, Meyers-Briggs, Enneagram, Strength Finder, Spiritual Gifts, Values, etc. number, letter, word, etc... And I know all of mine! Here is Me in a nutshell of quizzes:
DISC: CS - the Precisionist
Meyers-Briggs: ISFJ-A - the Defender
Enneagram: 6 - the Loyalist
Strengths: Intellection, Developer, Consistency, Input, Relator
Spiritual Gifts: Wisdom, Discernment, Administration
Values: Faith & Spirituality, Family, Truth, Trust
That's great! I am Me - the Me that God created me to be. Whoohoo! I read the definitions of these things and they make sense to me. The Enneagram - which seems to be all the rage right now - is the most fascinating to me. Instead of being like all the others that tell you the positive things about you, the Enneagram tells you all the negative (with just enough positive to, hopefully, keep you from beating yourself up too badly after reading it). My #6 is a deep thinker - prone to anxious thought and self-doubt - yes. Yes I am. But how glad am I that I have hope laced through my life - and faith that (sometimes) moves mountains. I don't have to live in the negative. With the help of the Holy Spirit I can live a life of STRENGTH. I can be all of the good things He has created me to be - because I am His and He is ever growing me into the Daughter He created me to be. How great is that!
(Bringing it back around)
The challenges of my life have made me strong that is true, but I am strong because I learned how to fight well. I have "beat my physical body into submission" through regular vigorous (sweaty) exercise to make it strong, and it is the same with my "spiritual body". I have to discipline it to be what it needs to be. So what is it? A warrior princess - Daughter of the King of kings. He has taught me through my struggles to know when the battle is supposed to be fought, and when I'm supposed to walk away. I have waged war against the enemy of my soul and tucked myself in tightly under my Father's arm to wait out the storm. I have gained wisdom from the experiences and faith from watching my Father be faithful.
So what about the times that I'm not strong or I'm jaded or doubts are overwhelming me or maybe I'm a bit paranoid? Well, dear ones... I run to my Father and to ones who have walked the path before me (this is tough for this introvert, but I'm learning). I seek Godly counsel and I pray. I quiet my soul (so I can hear Him over the voices in my head) and I purge the lies of the enemy with a flood of the truth of His Word.
John 16:33 comes to mind. Jesus tells us, "In this world you will have trouble, but take heart I have overcome the world."
Because He has already overcome the world I can overcome (through the power of the Holy Spirit at work in me) the jadedness, weakness, doubt and paranoia that seek to overwhelm my heart, and so can you, dear one. So can you!
The road to "being strong" is a long, hard one, but it is worth every step you take. It is a lot like climbing a mountain. I climbed Pike's Peak (America's Mountain) a couple of years ago and it was hard, but now I see it differently than I did before I climbed it. Before it was just another mountain, now I have respect for it and the challenge it presented to me. Climbing that mountain was worth the struggles that came along with it... walking the road to strength is the same - very much WORTH IT.
Dear Jesus, thank You that we overcome by Your precious blood spilled out and the word of our testimony - all the amazing things You have done in our lives. May we be the bold warriors - the Children of the King of kings - that You created us to be. May we use the strength You have given us to win the day in our own lives and win others to You in the world around us. May it be gentle and kind and fierce and loyal always to You. In Your Name, Amen.
