I have such fond memories of my childhood. I have two loving parents and I was always surrounded by friends and family who seemed to always be my personal cheerleaders. My childhood was a fun time, even though sometimes trivial things seemed like huge ordeals. Things like at age 5 watching another kid playing with a toy I wanted and wouldn’t even share was complete torture to me. I thought it was the end of the world at age 11 when my best pal chose to play with someone else instead of me (and of course, we were back to our best bud shenanigans the very next day).
Your background maybe different from mine. Maybe you weren’t the young kid who gathered flowers around the playground and arranged them on a swing. Maybe you weren’t the older kid who would swing SO high on the swing, you just KNEW you could make it loop over the top of the swing set. Maybe you were the kid who competed with your friends in the “who can spin the most in the swing WITHOUT vomiting” game (In case you weren’t THAT kid, it just means you sat in the swing, twisted the chains by slowly turning yourself until you couldn’t reach the ground with your toes, then letting go forcing the swing to spin you around at what seemed like warp speed until the swing became untangled with a halting jerk.).
No matter who you are or where you came from, you are bound to face an obstacle or two in your life.
I can remember being a very young child and wanting to swing on a swing set. I saw older kids swinging really high and I wanted to do that, too. It looked like SO much fun! The problem was, when I was very young I didn’t know how to swing. All I could do was rely on adult to push me on the swing and hope I could go as high as the other kids. The problem with having someone pushing me was I knew I could not reach my full swinging potential and I just could not swing as high as the other kids. Plus, if my parents arms got tired, I had to stop swinging all together.
I remember my parents teaching me how to swing. I knew it was all in gaining momentum by bending and straightening my legs. My little body just couldn’t seem to get coordinated enough to make that swing go. Man, was I discouraged. But, guess what? My parents kept encouraging me. They knew I could get it even when I thought it was impossible. I kept practicing and FINALLY I could swing by myself. The freedom of being able to swing so high I definitely thought I was about to touch a cloud with my toes was amazing!
My point? If I had given up on the obstacle of trying to swing myself, I would never have experienced the freedom (and fun stomach drop sensation) of swinging high into the sky. It WAS so much fun and I would have robbed myself of that blessing if I had given up.
Life is an amazing journey. When you reach an “impossible” obstacle, don’t be so quick to give up. What you see as impossible, God the Father sees as easy breezy possible. Persevere. Through adversity we are strengthened. Be encouraged! Be an overcomer!