Last Night

I had a wonderful opportunity last night to speak to a group of women - Moms - at our Parish. It was a great time to be able to step back and reflect on where I am right now.

This is what I shared...I do have to issue credit to a piece of it to Mary Eggers (Train-This). She had a terrific blog in December that helped me direct this talk. http://train-this.blogspot.com/2008/12/see-this-little-light-of-mine.html I went through and typed out what I wanted to say, I ended up doing some ad libbing, as this is my story. So, this is not exactly what was said but pretty darn close. The women laughed when they were supposed to and some even were crying...which wasn't the intent.

Thank you for inviting me to be part of this evening. I feel so honored to be part of this experience for all of you incredible women.

Each day is such a gift, I have learned through the last few years that there are no coincidences; my eyes have been opened to the Lord’s Grace. We are all attending this dinner tonight for a reason. I pray that you may all know why.

I am standing here wondering myself, how did I get here?

I feel like such a normal person, a wife, a mother, and working hard to be the best I can at each. I know that we are all struggling with the same sorts of things.

I have had some wonderful opportunities during my journey as a Christian, the last few years the journey has sped up for me. I have become much more aware of the grace surrounding me and my family.

So let me start here…
I read this quote from Marianne Williamson daily, it helps me to stay focused on what I feel is important to me.

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are POWERFUL beyond measure.
It is our light not our darkness, that most frightens us.
We ask ourselves, who am I to be Brilliant, Gorgeous, Talented and Fabulous?
Actually, who are you not to be? You are a Child of God.
Your playing small does not serve the world.
There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us, it is in EVERYONE. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.

So tonight what I have to share is a challenge.
When we were all small children we all believed that we could do ANYTHING. Then one day something happened…an unkind word, whatever, but it happened. Doubt crept in. No longer were you going to be the Princess, Olympic Athlete, or Superwoman. It fed into all areas of your life and you accepted it. You accepted that as your life.
There was a separation between your head and your spirit. It has happened to each of us.

So, if you sit still and reflect now, I believe you could still remember those dreams. Those goals. Maybe you have new ones, ones you never told anyone else. Have you sat with your Bible and quietly asked God…What do you want from me? Then waited. (and maybe waited a long time) for the answer?

Those Goals, Those Dreams. They are all still there and now you have one HUGE ally on your side and all these women to help you reach those goals. It could be going back to school, new job, running a 5K, learning to tap dance…I don’t know. But you have it there.

I know that when I am working on a goal, I am a MUCH better mother and wife. I am more patient, I am feeling more fulfilled, and I know that I am doing the Lord’s work. One very important thing that I learned during my Ironman training was that I could not do it all in one day. Each day I woke up and had some little piece to do and by race day…I could do the whole thing. I think that we need to remember that Your life is like that. Your spiritual journey is the same as your physical one. It took you years to get to where you are today…physically and spiritually. It will not change over night. You can do that work you need to for today…and tomorrow will be different but you will not be perfect, not until you reach our ultimate goal. Heaven.

So, back to the challenge. I Challenge you to open your bible. Do some bible roulette and start asking God for your next step. There are goals and dreams that you already have, make a list. Ask God for his support. Ask your husband about his goals and dreams. Work together to find a why to help each other reach them. Just because you are a parent does not mean that you should be dropping all sense of yourself for your children.

One of my personal goals was to bring the physical self together with the spiritual self.
A seed was planted during CRHP (talk about CRHP)…
That was the beginning idea of Go With Jesus. (we read the gospel, have a focus, and go for a run/walk)

It took me lots of worry and doubt to finally get it going but once I did, I looked forward to those runs every Saturday. I am looking forward now to spring so we can start meeting again.

As I say that I am reminded by how easy it is to just stay at the safe place. Not to stretch out our necks – those same fears and doubts come back…just like when I was a child.
Since then, I learned something very important, Anything is Possible if I am willing to be brave and fully rely on my Lord.

What is my next step?
Because of a very special mom here with me tonight, my sister-best friend, Beth. I know where I am being called next. We have had an unbelievable and tough winter. But Spring is coming and there is a lot of HOPE in this Easter. You will be hearing about me and my next steps, which involve creating a team to help people train for endurance events much like Team in Training, but the details are still being worked out and I need to just be quiet and listen.

So, Your challenge.
Create your bucket list.
Find daily time, to listen and find out what God wants you to do.

I challenge you to be brave.

What would you do if you knew you would not fail?

Saturday I am doing another talk (actually the same one twice), it is a workshop/retreat for Moms. I plan on using this same message but then we will have time to actually talk about their dreams. (what they would do if they knew they would not fail). It should be interesting. What is so interesting to me though - is that anyone wants to hear what I have to say...

So, have a great day!

Peace!