You’ve Got This

You say I am loved when I can’t feel a thing
You say I am strong when I think I am weak
And You say I am held when I am falling short
And when I don’t belong, oh You say that I am Yours
And I believe, oh I believe
What You say of me
I believe

She didn’t seem nervous at all. She even wanted to go first. Smiling, but sweating (because it was hot!), at the top of this huge rock, she waited as others went ahead. It was finally her turn to repel. Though she had listened to the instructions and knew what to do, she strapped up but quickly became a puddle of tears.

As a mom, I wanted to run out there and save her. I wanted to tell her, “It’s okay honey, you don’t have to do this.” I wanted to keep her in a place where she felt safe. But I knew that wasn’t what was best for her.

After she finally sat back to repel down the rock, she was out of my sight, but I could still hear her cries. It broke my heart. All I could do was shout encouragement at her from afar.

“You can do this, Emma!”
“You are brave and strong!”
“You’ve got this, girl!”

After half an hour, she finally made it to the bottom! I shouted so loud from the top of that rock as tears flooded my eyes. She did it. She really did it.

I wonder if God feels the same way when we start to panic about things He has asked us to do that are scary. I have a feeling He has compassion for us. He feels our anxiety and wants us to be okay, but He also knows what’s best for us. He’s there on top of that rock encouraging us down with every step we take and every tear we cry in fear that it might not work out how we want it to. He’s saying, “You can do this. You are brave and strong. You’ve got this.”

I wonder if God wells up with tears when we finally take that step over the side to push ourselves out of our comfort zone and closer to Him. I think He might.

“The LORD your God is in your midst, A victorious warrior. He will exult over you with joy, He will be quiet in His love, He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy.” – Zephaniah 3:17

 “Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.” – Isaiah 41:10

He says we are strong in Him. He says we are brave, courageous, tough, and able in Him. He says we can step out onto that ledge even though we are scared, and we can make it all the way to the next safe place before we realize we need to step out again.

This trip to Colorado was full of growth for all of our family. We did scary things! (Well, I’m sure Mr. Adventurous Daniel wasn’t scared, but the rest of us were!) I’m so thankful to have taken that trip and now can relate that to so many experiences in my life and as my kids grow up.

The best part of the trip was that I saw more determination in Emma that day than I had ever seen before. And now when she has to do hard things, she can remember this and say, “If I could do that, then surely I can do this.”

So do the hard things God is asking you to do. Step out in faith and trust that He is right there encouraging you and helping you. He will never let us down. And then, if you could do that, then surely you can do the next scary thing. And the next. And the next…