The Courage to Try

How are you at trying new things?  Are you a Pinterest gal, trying out new recipes and crafts?  Do you like trying new fitness classes to break-up your mundane workout?  How many different methods did you try to burp your baby, or potty train?  Each of us certainly TRIES new things all the time.  But God has an entirely different idea when it comes to us trying new things.  Have you ever been struck with an idea or thought that seems too ridiculous to voice let alone try?  Or an idea that scared the pants off you?  Did you ever consider where that idea originated?  I think the craziest ideas that enter our mind are often God’s voice, spurring us to pursue a plan He designed for us.  

I’m an engineer by degree and career.  I spent thirteen years designing automobile factories, and surrounded by people who would choose to take a physics class over an English class any day.  A few years into my career, I decided to go back to school to get my MBA.  Of course this meant I had to take the GMAT, which includes a written essay section.  I scored so poorly on this section of the test, that my admission to grad school was contingent upon me taking a remedial English class.  And once I was in this class, I quickly realized that I was the ONLY person who spoke English as my first language.  

Fast forward ten years.  I traded in my calculator for wipes and threw myself into MOPS to save my sanity.  I applied for a leadership position, and was asked to be the communications coordinator.  Remember, the girl who flunked her English test, communications coordinator?  Very funny God!  TRYing that role unleashed a gift only God could have planted in my soul.  I found myself laughing out loud as I personalized MOPS emails with my stories of motherhood.  So many people told me what an encouragement my writing was and how much they enjoyed that I decided to TRY writing a blog.  VERY funny God!!    

God’s sense of humor is certainly great, but his ability to take the most unpromising pupil and use her for His purpose is real.  All I had to do was TRY.  So do you have a TRY that is beckoning you?  Have you been asked to do something that is completely out of your area of expertise?  Has someone seen something in you that you have never seen in yourself?  Judith McNaught sums it up well, “There will be a few times in your life when all your instincts will tell you to do something, something that defies logic, upsets your plans, and may seem crazy to others.  When that happens, you do it.  Listen to your instincts and ignore everything else.  Ignore logic, ignore the odds, ignore the complications, and just go for it.”

Mandy Arioto writes that each of us has “been placed here, in this time and space, with unique abilities.  Made to try a lot of things, to love some and to let some go.”  Be courageous.  Try something new.  Try something scary.  Try something that gives God the opportunity to shine through you.

How to mend a broken heart.

I had a fun flashback today.  Valentine’s Day 2007.  It was my first married Valentine’s day, and should have been filled with romance.  But instead I found myself traveling for work a thousand miles away from my husband.  The drama associated with this was epic!  I started to feel sorry for myself a good two weeks ahead of time, whining to my co-workers (male engineers can be very sympathetic—HA!).  

No pity party can last forever, and mine ended with an aha moment.  While I couldn’t spend Valentine’s Day with the love of my life, I could make sure that those I loved felt that love.  So I threw myself into a shopping frenzy (thank you Target dollar aisle), putting together care packages for a few of my closest friends.  It felt so good to mail them off knowing the smiles they would bring, and it soothed my soul to serve others.

Fast forward eight years.  The honeymoon is over.  Valentine’s Day is no longer one of the most important dates on my calendar.  Halloween and birthday parties have taken over in a big way.  While Valentine’s Day has taken a back seat, the heartache and drama of life continues.  I still find serving others in my time of sadness to be a salve to my soul like no other. 

My source of encouragement has changed a bit too.  Rather than trolling the aisles of Target, I tap into God’s endless love and care.  And I feel Him challenging me to pass that encouragement on to others.  2 Corinthians 1:3-4 reminds us that God comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can be a comfort to others in their times of trouble.  How amazing that something I stumbled upon years ago is rooted in God’s plan for each of us.  Or maybe I shouldn’t be amazed at all….

The dilemma faced by mothers of boys.

Have you ever arrived home from the grocery store to find your children naked in the front yard playing?  And has your husband, when asked if he was aware of the situation, responded with, “How did they get into the front yard?”  Oh my…if only today was the first time this has happened.  Nudity, peeing in public, and combination superhero/emergency rescue personnel costumes are just part of being the mom of boys

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I used to find myself exasperated and embarrassed by the nudity and peeing.  Before long the exasperation fell away, and only recently did the embarrassment fade.  The opportunity to hear a child psychologist who specializes in boys speak helped me realize that no matter what I say or do, I’ll continue to find myself smack-dab in the middle of these types of situations.  I’ve always embraced the fact that boys are different, but I’ve never bought into the idea that these differences merit the breaking of social norms.  Learning that boys’ brains are physically different than girls’ brains empowered me to let go of the judgment and embarrassment that accompanied this stance.  The frontal lobe of a boy’s brain is less active and slower to grow than that of a girl’s.  The frontal lobe is where thought processing happens.  So quite literally, boys act BEFORE thinking.  Any mother of boys wouldn’t be surprised by this statement, but the knowledge that there is a physical reason may come as a surprise. 

So keep that chin up, prepare to laugh at the adventures of the day, and join me on the library’s wait list for the book by this psychologist who made me realize my boys are not freaks of nature.  I’m anxious to read “Wild Things” by David Thomas.  And in the meantime, I’ve subscribed to his blog, www.raisingboysandgirls.com.  There’s nothing more dangerous than an informed mother…I may need to get a superhero/emergency rescue worker costume of my own:-)

What's your legacy?

Aren’t Grandparents the best?  I was blessed to grow up near both sets of my grandparents, able to see them almost daily.  I had cooking sessions with my grandmothers.  Grandma Erb taught me how to make her homemade noodles for chicken and noodles.  Grandma Whattoff taught me how to make kringla and lefsa (Norwegian staples).  My grandparents knew how to work hard and to live and love unselfishly.  

It felt completely natural to marry into my husband’s family.  My mother-in-law was one of thirteen children, and their family is just as wonderful as mine.  Grandma Gronda (mother of the 13) was my husband’s only remaining grandparent.  She peacefully passed away a couple of weeks ago, at the age of 93.  Grandma lived Hebrews 12:1, running with endurance the race set before her.  She had many struggles throughout her life, not the least of which was raising thirteen children in a 4-bedroom, 1-bathroom house above her husband’s barber shop.  But the year’s I knew her were filled with laughter, love and faith.  She didn’t hold an ounce of regret over not having a bigger house, or fancy furniture.  She didn’t question whether her life meant something.  She had poured herself into her children and grandchildren, leaving a family legacy that would make anyone proud.

I find myself in a season of introspection.  Our time on earth is so short, and I want to make the most of it!  How will I be remembered as a mother, grandmother, friend, sister, and daughter when my time on earth is done?  The choices I make today set the course for how this question will be answered tomorrow.  Knowing this makes me want to be brave and live outside the box our culture has set before us.  Rather than live in extravagance, I want to be extravagantly generous with the gifts God has given me.  Can you imagine the snowball effect that could happen if each of us lived this way?  What a wonderful world it would be:-).