Give New a Real Try

It was leg day at the gym, and just as I thought I was done, my trainer wanted me to end with one last new move. It was a finisher she had not had me do before, so she demonstrated it first. When I saw her legs moving through it, I got excited. Who does not want a good leg day?

Then I tried it myself. It felt awkward from the very first rep. My legs did not know where to go. I did one, then two, back and forth, and I could feel myself getting more and more frustrated with each attempt. Finally, I just stopped and said, "Can we do something else?"

At the moment that question left my mouth, something in me got quiet.

I had not even given the movement a real try. I gave up because it was new and awkward, not because it did not work.

That is when it hit me. This was not really about my legs.

Pause with me for a moment. Think about the last time something felt unfamiliar in your marriage, your parenting, or your own healing, and you walked away from it before you gave it a real chance. Was it because it truly was not working, or was it simply because it felt awkward?

Scripture Reflection

Isaiah 43:19 says, "See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland."

God rarely introduces something new to us in a way that feels smooth on the first try. A new thing almost always feels unfamiliar before it feels natural. The awkwardness is not evidence that it will not work. Most times, it is simply evidence that it is new.

Heart Truths

That gym moment showed me something I needed to sit with, and I have a feeling it will land somewhere in your life too.

Awkward does not mean wrong. It usually just means new. Giving up after two tries is not the same as truly trying.

The discomfort you feel when you attempt something unfamiliar is not a signal to retreat. It is often the exact place growth is waiting.

Many of us have said no to a deeper conversation, a new way of loving our husbands, or a different way of parenting, simply because the first attempt felt clumsy.

The truth is, growth rarely feels graceful in the moment. It feels foolish, unsteady, wobbly, more like a wilderness than a breakthrough. But, the very thing that feels foolish may be the very thing that is forming you.

Loving Well in Action

You do not have to overhaul your whole life this week. You just have to take one honest step toward the thing you have been avoiding:

1. Take inventory. Sit down this week and be honest about one area where you have closed yourself off simply because it felt new or uncomfortable.

2. Say yes. To something new and scary this week, even if it is small. Let yourself be a beginner again.

3. Pray about it. Ask the Lord for the grace to release the fear that has kept you closed off, and ask Him to open your eyes to the new thing He is already doing.

A LoveNote

This is your reminder that you are not behind because something felt hard on the first try. You are not failing your marriage, your children, or yourself because a new season required more patience than you expected. Keep showing up. Keep trying the movement again. The Lord is not asking you to be perfect at the new thing. He is asking you to stay in it long enough to let it become familiar.

Your LoveNote Challenge

This week, write a love note to someone your heart has been nudging you toward. Think of one thing that has felt new or uncomfortable in that relationship lately, and instead of avoiding it, write toward it. Tell them, or tell yourself, that you are willing to keep trying even when it feels unfamiliar.

Finish With Intention

Do not let the awkward first try convince you to quit. Do not let unfamiliar feel like impossible. Stay in the movement long enough to find your footing.

Some of the most important things in your faith, marriage, your motherhood, and your own healing will feel clumsy before they feel natural. So give it a real second try this week and then a third if you have to.

What you are believing for is rarely found in what is familiar. It is found in what stretches you, in what feels new, and in what feels awkward today but may be the very answer you have been praying for.

Grab your copy of Love Him Well: The Daily Love Note Kit, made to help you love with intention every single day. Find it here: www.dailylovenotekit.com