Just Thank Him!
Updated: 2 days ago
Hi friends,
Well… it was one of those weeks.
You know the kind. Life throws a curveball you never saw coming, and before you can catch your breath, you’ve slipped into that place of fear. The fear of lack. The fear of loss. The fear of losing parts of you that have defined you for years.
For some of us, that’s a relationship. For others, it’s a career, a home, a dream, or the version of ourselves we thought we’d always be.
This week, it was my turn as it related to my career.
Cue the screeching brakes.
Something I had poured my whole heart into for years changed almost overnight, and a big part of how I’d always defined myself changed right along with it.
WOW. And not the kind I’m usually talking about. The kind that knocks the breath right out of you.
So, I did what most of us do… I cried. I gave myself a few hours of what I call the crumbles, and the thoughts of fear began to spin. What if there isn’t enough? Who am I without the thing that’s defined me for so long? What in the world comes next?
And then I heard it, loud and clear: Betsy, it’s time to practice what you preach.
FROM THE PAGES OF LIVING IN THE WOW
Hand It Over.
In my upcoming book there’s one practice I reach for more than almost any other. It’s called Hand it over & Give God the How.
On most days, it’s about dreaming big: you dream the what, and you let God handle the how. But some weeks, life comes at you faster than you can dream. You’re scared. You’re uncertain. If you’re honest, you’re not even sure you can trust yourself right now.
That’s when Give God the How matters most. When you can’t trust yourself, you trust Someone more powerful than yourself, and you let Him guide you, one day at a time, into the next season.
So I made a list of every time I couldn’t see a way forward, and a way showed up anyway. Right at the top is a little note from my mom.
I was 28 years old and down to my last $50, with ten days to make it last. My mom had no idea. None. Then, out of the blue, she sent me $500 and this note:
“Consider this a special gift but not from me. I really believe God asked me to give this to you. Don’t ask me why. I have no idea. Just thank Him! Love you! Mom”
She didn’t know. God did. Twenty-two years later, I still have that note. It’s one of my many reminders that God always has the how figured out. He has walked the path before me. And all is well.
Every. Single. Time.
THE LESSON
Remember Who You're Dealing With
I had almost forgotten who I was dealing with in those moments of doubt and uncertainty.
Once I remembered all of the moments before this that God had it all figured out and had walked the path before me, something shifted. This ending isn’t the end of my story. The ending is now the beautiful beginning.
And just like that, the fear turned into excited anticipation. If God has never once dropped the ball, why would He start now? What doors are about to open? How much better can this get? LFG!
I don’t have it all figured out. I don’t know exactly what the next season looks like. But I know that I know: I was made for such a time as this.
A little word trick I live by:
F.E.AR. Forgetting. Everything. Already. Realized
In times when fear wants to take over, we must remember everything already realized. All of the times that everything worked out in ways we never thought possible or could have imagined.
SNEAK PEEK
The Practices I'm Choosing to Lean into This Week
Writing a book about living in the WOW doesn’t mean I have figured life out. It means I have practices I come back to again and again. Here’s what else I’m leaning on right now:
01 · Baby Steps of Faith
You don’t need the whole map. Just the next little step, then the next one.
02 · Letting Go of the Fake Pearls....for Big Fat Diamonds!
Sometimes you let go of the good-enough thing in your hand to make room for the extraordinary thing on its way.
03 · Watch Your Mouth
Talk about what you want, not what you don’t. When my thoughts spiral, I stop and flip the script.
YOUR STEP THIS WEEK
Where do you need to remember who you're dealing with?
1. Write down three times God made a way when you couldn’t see one.
2. Keep that list close. Read it out loud whenever fear starts talking.
3. Hand over the how, take one baby step of faith… and just thank Him.
Always Grateful,
Comments