You Are Ready

I went to the gym last week Friday morning knowing it was going to be an intense session. The trainer had set up three rounds of different stations, and before each round began, she asked the same question. She asked if we were ready.

Every time she asked, my answer was no. I was not ready for the first round, I was even less ready for the second, and by the third round I was certain I had nothing left to give. Each time, the whistle blew anyway, and each time I did exactly what I had to do.

Somewhere in the middle of that final round, I looked at the woman working beside me and heard myself say, "Come on, five more." Only moments earlier, I had been the one convinced I was not ready, and there I was, helping someone else push through.

That is when it settled in my spirit. I had said I was not ready three times, and three times I had proven myself wrong.

Most of the time, we decide we are not ready long before we discover that we are.

Pause with me for a moment and think about the situation you have been telling yourself you are not ready for. Maybe it is a difficult season in your marriage that has lasted longer than you expected. Maybe it is a child who is testing every ounce of your patience, or the quiet of an empty nest that you did not know how to prepare for.

Where have you been saying, "Lord, I am not ready for this"? Where have you been convinced that you do not have what it takes?

Scripture Reflection

"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." ~Philippians 4:13 NKJV

This verse does not say we can do all things because we feel prepared. It says we can do all things because of the One who strengthens us. That strength is often supplied at the sound of the whistle, in the moment we step forward, and not in the waiting beforehand.

Another verse came to mind as I finished my workout.

"Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ." ~ Philippians 1:6 NKJV

The work God has started in your marriage, in your children, and in you has not been abandoned halfway. The One who began it is fully able to bring it to completion.

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.

Feeling unready is not the same as being unready. A feeling reports how we experience the waiting, but it does not measure what God has already placed within us.

Readiness is often revealed in the moving. I did not feel ready when the trainer asked, but I discovered what I was capable of when the whistle blew.

You are able to do hard things. You are able to push through when the moment gets tight, whether that moment is in your marriage, in your motherhood, or in the quiet places of your faith.

You were never meant to persevere alone. Sometimes we need a community around us, someone who looks at us when we feel we have nothing left and says, "Let us go." Someone may also be waiting for you to be that voice for them.

More importantly, God is able to carry you through. He sustains you while you are in the middle of it, and He brings you to the other side.

Loving Well in Action

Truth becomes powerful when we act on it, so here are four steps you can begin today.

1. Name where you feel unready. Take a few quiet minutes and write it down. Be honest with yourself about the area of your life where you believe you do not have what it takes.

2. Examine why you feel that way. Ask yourself whether you need to stop and take a break, whether you need to push, or whether you need to find people who will champion you. Honesty here will show you which step is yours to take.

3. Take the next step and speak the verse aloud. You do not have to carry the whole season today. Say Philippians 4:13 out loud and then do the one thing that is in front of you.

4. Find your champion and be one. Reach out to a friend, a mentor, or your husband and tell them where you feel unready. Then look for someone else who needs to hear you say, "Come on, five more."

A LoveNote

This is your reminder that you are more ready than you think.

The season that has you saying, "Lord, I am not ready," is not proof that you lack what it takes. It is simply the moment before the whistle blows. You have already done hard things that you did not feel prepared for. You have loved when you were tired, prayed when you did not have the words, and shown up when everything in you wanted to step back.

God has been strengthening you through every one of those moments, and He is not finished with you. The work He began in you, in your marriage, and in your home, He is fully able to bring to completion.

So take the next step, even if it is a small one. Come on, you are ready, and God is carrying you through.

Your LoveNote Challenge

This week, write a love note that says "Come on” to someone who needs to hear it. That someone might be your husband, who has been carrying more than he says. It might be a child who is discouraged, a friend in a difficult patch, or you, because some of us need to be encouraged by our own handwriting.

Begin with this sentence and let the rest flow from your heart: "I believe you are more ready than you know, and I want you to remember..."

Finish With Intention

Whatever moment meets you this week, whether it is a hard conversation, a long day with your children, or a season of marriage that is stretching you, I hope you will remember you are ready. You do have what it takes, more than you know. More importantly, God is able to carry you through, to sustain you while you are in the middle of it, and to bring you safely to the other side.

Go and love well.

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