“Your marriage can’t survive this.” “People don’t recover from infidelity.” “Don’t stay with them, cut your losses and run.” “They will never change-it’s not worth it.” “You doing the right thing (biblically) in the face of their wrong won’t change anything-save yourself.” “It’s hopeless.” “You can’t. (chuckle chuckle) (elevated disapproving brow) (judgement-drip drip drip).” “You want to do what?” “But that hasn’t been done before. That is out of the box, against the herd, against the current.”
Me, ’yep’!
I was strategic in going against the current in pursuit of my dream and in fulfilling my vows. I don’t fit in anyone’s box-not because I want to be obnoxious or oppositionally defiant, but because I looked at the facts, observed outcomes, thought it through, and prayed a lot and then stepped forward in faith. Then did it again, and again and again. Has it been easy? No. Easy is overrated. Nothing worth while is ever 100% easy. Has there been some weeping and gnashing of teeth? You bet. But I always come back to joy, joy knowing I am walking in truth and not compromising to go with the flow, settle for what is ‘safe’ and has been done before, or trusting simply what I can see through my finite vision.
Family mocked me to my face and made fun of me behind my back (as it turns out). And that’s ok. Because when you have a passion and a purpose, a little mocking won’t hold you back. It didn’t hold Jesus back, and He who lives in me is greater than he who is in the world. I am no Jesus, but His passion and purpose reside within me and so-with perseverance, I charge the hill. Yes, my sense of self has been a little bloodied in the battle and that’s ok.
I’ve seen the impossible done. I’ve witnessed a heart broken spoken, ‘I’m exhausted and without hope’ turn into an inspired tattoo as a reminder that, ‘yes you can do it and God can turn it all around-immeasurably more than all you can ask or imagine according to His power that is at work within us…….’ Ephesians 3:20.
So what are you not doing that you want to do, or feel called to do but fear of a little mocking is holding you back? Fear of a little skinned knees? Fear of failure. It’s only failure, by the way, if you decide not to get back up and keep pushing, persevering. I selfishly almost remained ‘safe’, almost not willing to risk trying again. My marriage (now nearing 23 years) would have failed. I would not have become a coach and I would have robbed myself and others of the joy of positive transformations that I have been privileged to contribute. And I would have spent the rest of my life wondering what would have been if I had just been a little more brave, trusted God, felt the fear and did it anyway.
I can imagine the scouts sent to check out the Promised Land-when they saw a land of giant people. GIANTS and not just one of them…I believe they said they felt like grasshoppers by comparison. Talk about faith to step into what God had called them to! It had to have felt a little scary. Or David when he faced Goliath. He totally could have left Goliath for another to take on. He was least likely. He didn’t have years of battle hardening in the traditional ‘soldier/warrior’ sense, he was young-still a boy (not William Wallace (Mel Gibson) in Braveheart).
So what is it that you haven’t tackled? That is keeping you from buckling in with the trace of a grin and just getting to it?
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