That was from my wonderful son, Emmie, the other day when I accidentally mentioned something about his younger brother, Joshie, as if I was comparing the two . Then, his sister, Ember, jumped in saying I do the same thing with her, scrutinizing her against her sister Julie. So, I’ve been the hated mom of the week by my two E’s – Emmie and Ember – with them believing I set them up opposed to my J’s – Julie and Joshie. But can you believe God joined in on our family discussion?!? Here’s how:
All week, I’ve kept trying to defend myself saying that it’s not that I’m comparing, rather, I’m merely pointing out their weaknesses and how they can learn from their siblings to do and be better. “WE’RE NOT RUNNING FROM OUR WEAKNESSES!!!” I constantly repeated. I kept saying that their dad is exceptionally hardworking and that I’m challenging myself to be more like him. I know fighting off laziness is a huge battle for me but I’m not running from my shortcomings, either. No joke!
And here’s where God joined in on the conversation! To fight against my lazy tendencies, I’ve upped my exercise game, and I’m genuinely PUSHING myself to leave my comfort (LAZY) zone. Today, that meant going for a LONG run up and down the stairs of our house. I debated and debated which of the guided Nike Running Club runs I would do, and then I finally landed on a 50-minute one featuring Olympian track star, Colleen Quigley.
I had to sit down and listen in amazement when she spoke about the group of women she trains within the “Bowerman Babes Club.” It was like she had been a part of the conversations with me and my kids! She said that she had surrounded herself with a group of confident women WHO ARE HONEST ABOUT THEIR WEAKNESSES. Exactly what I’ve been trying to explain to my kids! She said that frees everyone in the group to take on those weaknesses and then KICK ASS. She felt that for her truly to become great, it’s not going to only be because of her strengths, but it’s also because she has worked on and tackled weaknesses. Heehaw!!!
You can call this a coincident if you want, but to me, it’s God revealing His intimate Presence through the words of Colleen, with Him lovingly joining in on our family argument. Here I am, the hated parent of the week, simply because I’ve pointed out to my kids some of their not so strong points and how they can learn from their siblings. And then, very out of the blue, this OLYMPIAN ATHLETE shows up in my run speaking about how she and her running buddies’ way to greatness has been THROUGH TACKLING THEIR WEAKNESSES TOGETHER. Of all the guided runs I thought about doing today, God led me to the perfect one!
I then thought that my daughters and I would form our own Babes Club where we’ll do the same thing, opening up about our weaknesses freely with each other and work on being better together. Like an hour after that run, I then go to get my computer from my daughter’s room, and incredibly, next to it, was a bag a friend had given her some years ago, with the words printed on boldly in front “Babes Club” WINK! WINK! written on it. Again, NO COINCIDENT, but God’s sweet way of revealing His invisible Presence with me! It brought to life my words from Him in a recent alone time:
“Ponder these words: He (God) and I. Live them. I (God) and you. I (God) in you.” – He and I
Amen.