I Can’t (Oh, yes, I can)
Emerging Mummy is one of the newer additions to my blogroll…this post of hers is what hooked me. I asked her permission to use the same idea and some of her content in a post of my own in the hopes it might spark a trend – it kinda goes along with my “Silencing the ‘Inner You Stink’ ” rants.
In her post. Sarah shared the following comments by theologian Baxter Kruger on the lie: “I am not.”
Faith in this lie has been humanity’s basic struggle since the original fall. I am not loved. I am not valuable. I am not good enough. I am not accepted. I am not _____ – you fill in the blank. I believe that we can trace all sin back to this lie. Envy, strife, lying, manipulating, presumption, gossip, slander, adultery, murder, theft. If you think about it, I think that the ultimate motivation behind all types of sin is an attempt to manage the pain of believing “I am not.”
The occupation of God since the fall then, has been to restore us to the truth. It’s interesting to me, that when God calls Moses to cooperate with Him to lead a bunch of slaves into freedom, Moses asks, “Who shall I tell them that this God is?” The answer: “I AM.” We are valued because the great “I AM” values us.
We are loved, because “I AM” loves us. “I AM” stands in direct opposition to “I am not.”
I am not strong, or brave, or confident. I am not persistent, or patient, or important.
But I AM valuable.
I can’t raise these kids, I can’t keep my temper, I can’t be self-less.
But God can do all those things through me.
In self-limiting statements on what we are, or aren’t, we are limiting the unlimitless power of God. With God, all things are possible. Nothing, NOTHING, is impossible.
When my heart says “I can’t,” I AM says “yes, you can.”
Thank you, Sarah and Sarah, for sparking what I hope will be a trend. Join us, share your failings and, despite them, tell the world why you are valuable to Him and what you really CAN do.
I am quick tempered – a terrible trait for a parent.
Nothing is impossible with God.
I am always afraid of what others will think.
Nothing is impossible with God.
I am not around enough for my kids.
Nothing is impossible with God.
I have a 50% chance of contracting Huntington’s disease.
Nothing is impossible with God.
I continue to lose my eyesight.
Nothing is impossible with God.
I am incapable of raising two strong-willed boys.
Nothing is impossible with God.
I could never write anything worth publishing.
Nothing is impossible with God.
I don’t have TIME to write anything worth publishing.
Nothing is impossible with God.
We will never get out from under this mortgage.
Nothing is impossible with God.
I will never be able to stay home with my kids.
Nothing is impossible with God.
I will never be able to attend a speaking or writing conference.
Nothing is impossible with God.
I am not the kind of friend I should be.
Nothing is impossible with God.
I am afraid of what the future holds.
Nothing is impossible with God.
“We are not necessarily doubting that God will do the best for us; we are wondering how painful the best will turn out to be.” C.S. Lewis
Adelle Gabrielson 
>Reading over some of what you shared…you are brave. And definately loved, sister. Well done.
>Thanks Adelle, for sharing this and saying what so many of us feel and think..I want to post this to the fridge! Funny thing, I think you are and have done or will do everything you fear you are not, or might not do, or cant do. We are strange creatures, all of us :o)Syl
>You ARE Brave, Strong, Admired, Confident, Patient, AMAZING at everything you do including the role of Friend, Mom, Daughter, Sister, and Wife, an accomplished writer, Persistent, Focused, Exceptional, LOVED, CHERISHED, TREASURED and I'll say it again, LOVED! I imagine it had to have been scary to hit "publish" after writing down the "I am not's" the above, but I am so glad you shared them, I am so proud to say I know you, and I am so humbled by them too – We all just try our very best while we are on this earth.I've copied you, MotherMy words echo your voiceYou're my shining exampleThe one of my choiceNot thinking about itI've copied your styleThe way that you walkThe way that you smileYou fashioned my dreamsYou painted my hopesI've learned to make knotsAt the end of my ropesWe all learn to love,But not from a friendI learned your strengthAnd when I should bendMom, you've mapped the wayTo Heaven aboveBy teaching me kindnessBy teaching me love – Anonymous
>Goodness every time I stop by you motivate me 🙂 YOU/WE ARE…so very much more than you/we believe…because of him.