As I’ve soaked in the spendor of Colorado’s Rocky Mountains over the last week, many times I’ve thought back to this time last year when my future was mired with uncertainty. On more than one occasion I’ve felt like pinching myself.
Not just because of the majestic views, but because of the million little miracles that have occurred since.
They say we pray best when we’re down on our knees. Well, I prayed a lot in Breckenridge last year. The truth is, I have a very imperfect and fragile faith. One that is often filled with doubt. It’s why walking the path of ‘faith over fear’ (which I wrote about in You’ve Got This! ) is a daily practice. Sometimes, an hourly one!
Of course, my prayers – to have our family reunited and living on the same continent – didn’t dissolve my doubts or eradicate all my fears. But each time I’d actively practice ‘Letting go and letting God’ (or whatever name you might ascribe to that higher source of power/intelligence), it helped to loosen their grip, liberating my energy to get on with making the best of my situation (walking my talk to Live the life you have, not the one you want!).
One of the important lessons I’ve learned amid the disruption, disappointment and ‘plot twists’ of recent years is this:
Just because you cannot see the mountain top when you’re on the valley floor doesn’t mean it’s not there.
Likewise, just because I couldn’t see a path forward from the situation I found myself in last year, didn’t mean there wasn’t one. I just couldn’t see it!
I had no idea if or how my prayers would be answered. I kept doing all I could to facilitate that outcome but I sure as heck wasn’t able to control it.
And then… BAM… the stars all aligned in ways I could not have imagined, much less have orchestrated. Truth was, it felt like God has truly ‘parted the waters’ as one little miracle after another fell into place.
The details are complex but the message is simple…
When life is not as you’d like it to be, take a sacred pause and say a humble prayer.
For grace.
For guidance.
For forgiveness.
For learning the lessons on offer.
For turning setbacks into stepping stones.
For trusting that you have everything required to reach the mountain top, no matter how deep or dark the valley you’re currently in.
As I wrote in You’ve Got This! (Chapter 9 if you’re interested to read it!):
Having faith doesn’t banish all doubt or remove all problems. However, it transforms our relationship with them, expanding our capacity – physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual – to respond to them better.
More calmly. More creatively. More courageously.
The truth is, if everything always went as you wanted, if you never had to walk in the valley of doubt, you could never fully savor the splendor of standing on the mountain top.
It’s coming.
Your challenge today is making the very most of wherever you are right now, keeping faith that everything works out in the end. And if it hasn’t worked out yet, it’s not yet the end.
EXTRA RESOURCES >> Listen here to Margie’s Live Brave Podcast on Choosing Faith Over Fear (9 mins)
