It’s not always easy. It might be hard, but it’s usually not impossible.
As my hands continue to weaken, it takes me a while to ‘do’ stuff.
Case in point:
Most supermarket shopping carts require a coin deposit in Canada to ensure you return it to the corral and don’t just leave it in the middle of a parking spot. You can buy coin-shaped tokens to slip into the locking system, a one time purchase (many places give them out for free), and you are never rooting around for change in your pocket.
The other day, my friend and I were shopping as we often do on a Saturday morning. I dropped my token after fumbling with it a bit. My friend knows how important it is for me to do as much as I can for myself, even when it’s ‘hard’. Hard is not impossible; it’s just ‘hard.’ So I bent down (not easy to do with leg braces), picked the coin up after a few tries, and got it in the slot. Ta-dah!
She could have completed the operation in a tenth of the time it took me; she had the power and dexterity to do so. But both she and I know, if I don’t use it, I’ll lose it faster than if I keep doing the ‘hard’ things.
Sometimes, we expect God to do the hard ‘stuff’ for us. Stuff like gaining new healthy habits, letting go of bad habits and taking risks. Maybe it’s because we think ‘hard’ equates ‘impossible.’ Not so. Quite often, hard is only impossible if we don’t try. And if God leads us to do something, He’ll give us the extra oomph to get ‘er done, if we ask, but He’s waiting for us to step out in obedience first.
“The desire of the sluggard kills him, for his hands refuse to labour.” — Proverbs 21:25 (ESV)
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Until Next Week,
©2021 Katherine Walden