She Believed

There’s a quote I like a lot:

She believed she could, so she did.

R.S. Grey

It says, to me, that anything is possible if you put your mind to it. That seems like a great approach to life.

Both of my parents are off-the-charts creative. My sister gave my dad a huge compliment way back. She said, “Daddy, if they’d had gifted classes when you were in school, you would have been in one.” He could sell anything, fix anything, build anything. My mom, absolutely, equally as gifted. She is a natural-born teacher. I remember her teaching me to sew when I was in high school. All the while, I griped and fussed and said I’d marry a rich man and never sew a day in my life. Guess what? That didn’t happen and sewing is good therapy for me, to this day. She is still teaching me in all areas of life without even trying.

I could not help but follow in their footsteps. I was raised with a you-can-do-this attitude. Between the genes my parent passed on to me and the example they set of ‘just do it’, a great deal of satisfaction comes with the process of discovering whether or not I can succeed.

I am constantly trying new things and exploring new hobbies. That’s the ‘she believed she could’ mentality. Some quickly fall by the wayside and others bring me a great amount of pleasure. I enjoy a challenge, experimenting, and learning something new. While still realizing, I am far from talented in more ways than I can count.

With that, sometimes I discover I am really crummy at something. Realize it will never be my ‘thing’ and move on. Every once in a while, confidence follows. Self-confidence is great. Self-doubt is not.

Believing you can handle everything that comes your way, though, is a formula for failure. If you haven’t already figured that out, you will. We aren’t meant to carry it all alone. Yes, we are given skills to manage many, many things. But it isn’t our job to fix everything.

Somehow in parenting, creativity and an I-can-do-anything attitude, doesn’t get you very far, does it? They can just yank the rug out from under you and send you reeling before you know what happened. Even now, being a mom for 41 years, I still feel like I don’t know what I’m doing some days. I know for sure I don’t always feel confident.

This is what I do know, deep in my heart, ‘she realized she couldn’t so God did’.

I have come to understand that the only way I can stay on the Jacob train day in and day out, is with God as the conductor.

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I cannot possibly be the mom he needs on my own.

She believed she could, with God’s help.

“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Philippians 4:13