The Great Charade--Ms.Confidence

I am extremely late in posting my response to Tuesday's Bible study! Sorry! We are discussing Behind Those Eyes by Lisa Whittle through Lelia's blog. I hurriedly read through the first few pages of this chapter. (I've been in a hurry all week it seems!) Then I read this poem that really hit home. It's by an unknown author and is just wonderful!

"A Strong Woman vs. a Woman of Strength"

A strong woman works out every day to keep her body in shape...

But a woman of strength kneels in prayer to keep her soul in shape.

A strong woman isn't afraid of anything...

But a woman of strength shows courage in the midst of her fear.

A strong woman won't let anyone get the best of her...

But a woman of strength gives the best of her to everyone.

A strong woman makes mistakes and avoids the same in the future...

But a woman of strength realizes life's mistakes can also be God's blessings and capitalizes on them.

A strong woman wears the look of confidence on her face...

But a woman of strength wears grace.

A strong woman walks sure-footedly...

But a woman of strength knows God will catch her when she falls.

A strong woman has faith that she is strong enough for the journey...

But a woman of strength has faith that it is in the journey that she will become strong.

Y'all, I believe the author wrote that just for me! I want that strength that makes me confident in Christ all of the time. The scripture reference that Lisa used of Paul in 2 Corinthians 12:6-10 drove the message home.

6If I had a mind to brag a little, I could probably do it without looking ridiculous, and I'd still be speaking plain truth all the way. But I'll spare you. I don't want anyone imagining me as anything other than the fool you'd encounter if you saw me on the street or heard me talk.
7-10Because of the extravagance of those revelations, and so I wouldn't get a big head, I was given the gift of a handicap to keep me in constant touch with my limitations. Satan's angel did his best to get me down; what he in fact did was push me to my knees. No danger then of walking around high and mighty! At first I didn't think of it as a gift, and begged God to remove it. Three times I did that, and then he told me, My grace is enough; it's all you need. My strength comes into its own in your weakness.Once I heard that, I was glad to let it happen. I quit focusing on the handicap and began appreciating the gift. It was a case of Christ's strength moving in on my weakness. Now I take limitations in stride, and with good cheer, these limitations that cut me down to size—abuse, accidents, opposition, bad breaks. I just let Christ take over! And so the weaker I get, the stronger I become.

Yesterday, my son ran in a cross country race. He just started running a few months ago, and he has improved his time in the 5K race (3.1 miles) quite a bit. It's really fun to watch him and his teammates. He has confidence in himself and his running abilities. We remind him that these abilities are gifts from God. God needs to get the glory for his achievements. Well, sometimes he remembers, sometimes he doesn't! Sharing this with close family and friends is fine, but we've also told him that if he is going to boast, it should be in the Lord.

While he was running yesterday, the message behind this scripture came into play. He was running a strong race at mile two when we spotted him. He was positioned right behind the runner on his team who is just a little faster. Everything looked good for a strong finish. I was confident that he would do well!

Fast forward to the last tenth of mile...the fastest runner from our team crossed the finish line. My son should have been next. But..another runner on his team finished, then another, and another! I was eagerly looking for my child to come over the last hill...not stressing, but I was wondering what was going on. Then, as he crested the hill, I saw his hand pressing into his side. He was struggling with a side stitch . We encouraged him to finished strong as he ran past my husband and me. After he exited the finish line shoot, we went over to see what happened. He said that his side started hurting, and he struggled with breathing and nausea (the joys of running fast!) His time was off just by a minute or so, and he still ran a great race on a very tough and hilly course. There were no excuses, he simply had a bad race. You can have all of the confidence in the world, but there are "thorns in the flesh" we have to deal with daily. If we put our hope and our strength in God, He will walk us through these obstacles day by day. In our weakness, we will become stronger and more confident in Him--not ourselves. I believe that this lesson came alive for my family yesterday.

Many Blessings,