She Believed She Could So She Did

 

For a good long time now, I’ve seen the quote on home décor, jewelry, and T-shirts.  It is encouraging and inspirational.  What we think does indeed have a lot to do with setting and achieving goals. 

I was curious, so I researched the origins of the quote.  The first thing I found said it was written by R.S. Grey in the book Scoring Wilder.   This is a book about a female college soccer player who sets her sights on one of her coaches. 

You guessed it, the “scoring” does not have anything to do with the game of soccer.  I was disappointed when I discovered this. 

Then I found a book by Sam (Samantha) Lacey with this quote as part of its title.  “She Believed She Could So She Did: A Modern Woman’s Guide to Life.”  Really?  I thought that was the Bible. 

 I don’t know either of these women and I haven’t read either book.  But I do know Ecclesiastes 1:9 tells us “What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun.  Is there a thing of which it is said, ‘See, this is new?’  It has already been in the ages before us.”

Now that is something isn’t it?  Even as young as the world was when Ecclesiastes was written, God said nothing was new.  Everything had already been said and done.  I find this truly fascinating! 

But the passage is not speaking of discoveries, inventions and developments in technology.  It refers to the nature and emotions of mankind. It is about the way we think and feel, and the way we treat each other. 

One may ask how is it that “she believed she could, so she did” is not new?  Go all the way back to Eve. 

She saw that fruit.  Satan convinced her she would not surely die.  She believed she could eat it without suffering any consequences – so she did – and with disastrous results! 

What about Sarah who was impatient regarding God’s promise of a son to Abraham?  She believed she could speed things up by giving Hagar as a concubine to Abraham.  So she did – with heartbreaking results!!

There are also positive examples.  Naomi didn’t plan for Ruth to go with her to Bethlehem.  But Ruth thought differently.  She thought she could choose Naomi’s God as her God too.  So she did - and both women were blessed!

There was Shiphrah and Puah, Jochebed and Miriam, Hannah, Esther, Abigail, Mary, the mother of John Mark – and many, many more! 

These are real-life examples of how believing and doing was played out for both bad and good in the Bible.  It is what we choose to think that will guide our words and deeds. 

The line itself conveys the same message Jesus gave to His apostles in Matthew 17:20, but with a twist – “If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.”

That’s it.  Faith.  That is the twist.  What we do, we do through our faith in Christ our Savior. 

Love to all - Robin

Lyla's Horrible Day

If there was one thing Lyla knew after fifty plus years on this earth, it was that she really didn’t know anything.  It seemed like nothing ever stayed the same.  

“It certainly isn’t like it used to be, is it Henry?”  Head tilted to one side,  her dog looked at her questioningly. 

 “It seems as if the whole world is turned around backwards or something,” Lyla continued.  “Everybody is out for themselves and they don’t care what they have to do to get ahead.” 

Lyla never dreamed Janine would take credit for the work she did on the Martindale project!  But she had.  Worse yet, Janine got a big promotion out of the deal!  Lyla was devastated by the betrayal.  It had been a horrible day for her and she felt all alone. 

Her phone rang again.  It was her best friend Vicky.  She had already called three times; but Lyla just couldn’t bring herself to talk right now.  She put the phone down without answering. 

Henry jumped up on the couch to sit beside her.  Lyla was happy to have him there.  He scooted right up next to her.  She drew comfort from his closeness.  “At least you won’t double-cross me will you, Henry?” 

She leaned back on the couch and closed her eyes.  She sighed deeply, trying to blink back the bitter tears.  Then Lyla prayed.  Well, she prayed as best she could. 

She was still so hurt; and at first she didn’t even know what to pray.  But once Lyla got started, she poured her heart out to God and told Him what had happened.  She was honest about her anger and how unfair it was for Janine to claim she did all the work on her own – especially when Lyla did most of it. 

She began to feel a little better.  Her prayer helped her feel more at peace.  She remembered 1 Peter 3:12.  “For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,  and His ears are open to their prayer.  But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”  That verse always gave her such great comfort.

God had never failed Lyla before and she knew He would not fail her now.  She thought about Jesus’ life while He was here on earth.  He was rejected and reviled. 

Christ lived a sinless life.  He served others throughout His ministry.  He healed the multitudes of all sorts of diseases and He fed them because He had compassion on them.  Yet on the night, He was crucified, a crowd of people chose a known murderer to be released rather than the Son of God. 

Lyla realized Christ truly knew all that she had been through today.  He knew how these hurts felt.   She knew the Lord would take care of her. 

“No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.”  Romans 8:37.

Christ above all things - Robin

An Apology on the Blue Ridge Parkway

My mother’s parents lived in Hampton, Virginia.   We lived in rural northeast Mississippi.   The two places are about 866 miles apart.  We were blessed to be able to visit them once a year during the summer and I have such great memories of those times. 

Thinking about it now, the memories come flooding back all at once.  They were truly special times.  Being with my grandparents was great fun.  Mom and Dad always made the road trips back and forth extra special time too. 

I guess we really got to know each other – five people in one car – on a trip that long.  Once they decided to take the Blue Ridge Parkway at least part of the way home.  This Parkway is nearly four hundred seventy miles long.  It starts near Waynesboro, Virginia and goes through Blue Ridge Mountains ending near Cherokee, North Carolina. 

We did not stay on the Parkway from beginning to end, but Mom and Dad wanted us to experience the beauty of the mountains.  It is a gorgeous scenic route.  Somewhere along the way we stopped for a little break and to stretch our legs. 

When we got back on the road, Dad turned on the Parkway again.  My youngest brother, John, said, “Dad, you turned the wrong way.”   Now Dad was very good with directions.  He seemed to always know where he was going.   And my brother was pretty young. – maybe about ten. 

“No, John.  We’re going the right way,”  Dad said.  He drove on. … for several miles.  

I’m not sure how far we went, but Mom and Dad saw a road sign giving the distance to the next town.  It just happened to be a place we went through a little earlier in the day. 

They looked at each other in surprise as they realized John had been right along. 

As Mom said a few days ago when we talked about this, “As good as Dad was about not getting lost, he wasn’t perfect.” 

What I remember the most about that trip – what has stuck with me all these years – is that Dad apologized to John.  I can still hear his voice just as clearly as I did that day.  He turned and looked at my brother and said, “John, I’m sorry.  You were right.  I went the wrong way.  I’m sorry, buddy.” 

Dad didn’t try to find a way to save face.  He didn’t look for an excuse or try to blame it on anyone else.  He admitted he was wrong right then and there.  My dad gave his ten year old little boy a heartfelt apology. 

True humility is not something we run across very often these days.  That’s a shame because it is a command from God.   Philippians 2:3 reads, “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.”

I am so thankful to have such a wonderful example of humility~!

Christ above all things -- Robin