When I was pregnant with my third
son, I experienced a catastrophic
breakdown and severe identity crisis.
My husband and I were not
expecting any more children and
were being responsible adults, but
God clearly had another plan! Being
pregnant a third time with two
children both under the age of 4, was
an enormous trial and I remember
standing by the kitchen sink crying
and complaining to God, letting him
know unequivocally that this was by
far one of the worst things that could
happen to me right now and that I
could not do this. God in His loving
kindness reassured me that day that
things could be much worse and
through Him, I could do all things.
If you pay close attention to your
daily conversations, you may find
that you often say the words “I can’t
do this,” and even if you don’t
verbalise it, when circumstances and
challenges arise that are
overwhelming and beyond our
control, we often communicate
these words subconsciously by
default. As a mother of five, I often
have to remind my children that they
can do whatever they put their
minds to and are prepared to work
at, especially when they are trying to
get out of something they know how
to do, like homework!
Most of us have been programmed
to think, speak and act negatively as
an initial response. If you listen to
those around you and even the
conversations you have on a daily
basis, you will notice that people are
quick to criticise, condemn and
complain, rather than compliment,
commend and congratulate. Most
people can easily point out what is
wrong or went wrong but find it
much more of a challenge to
highlight what went well.
This destructive mentality is often
the result of things we have
experienced in our past. We think we
can’t simply because someone (or
some experience) told us we can’t.
We think we are unattractive
because someone (or some
experience) told us we were
unattractive. We think we are a
failure because someone (or some
experience) told us we were a failure.
We tell ourselves, “I can’t ask for a
promotion”, “I can’t lose weight”, “I
can’t start a business”, “I can’t
forgive”, “I can’t forget”, the list of
things we can’t do for many goes on
and on.
I have a question for
you - Who told you
that you can’t?
The Bible says I can
do all things through
Christ that
strengthens me.
JASMINE'S PLACE
23