Have you ever been stuck in an oh woe is me mentality? You know what I'm talking about. The kind where you say to yourself, "I could maybe be like susie smith if I didn't have seven children" or "a husband deployed" or "no money" or a thousand other "ors" that can finish out that sentence. We are constantly comparing ourselves to other women and declaring in our minds and hearts how we don't measure up. Then we lay out a list of a thousand reasons why "she" is able to do something that we are not.
I have often found myself guilty of this type of thinking. I am one of those "I just can't" type of thinkers. "I can't road trip across the US with my four kids and two dogs by myself." "I can't keep a neat and tidy house, I've got four young children!" "I can't contribute financially to my family." "I can't think in advance about how to help my husband and adjust my day accordingly." "I can't! I can't! I can't!"
I had the pleasure of meeting a most beautiful individual. You know those women that you meet and you immediately see in them a beauty, passion, peace, joy, and complete wonderfulness in them? I'm not saying she's perfect, but I'm talking about those people that you go, "Oh my goodness I just want to soak you in and learn how to incorporate your wisdom into my life!"
I am all about studying people. Seriously! If I see someone around me who is doing something wonderful, I want to learn from them and change behaviors in myself! Why wouldn't I? To not do that seems completely and utterly foolish. If I meet someone who is joyful, I want to learn how to be joyful! Study! If I meet someone caring, I want to learn how to be more caring! The list goes on and on. I want to learn from the people who have already figured stuff out!!! :)
Okay, back to the beautiful woman I met. She has a LOT of children. Seriously. More than I do. She has a joy in her heart rarely seen in women's lives. Her home? Beautiful! Seriously. The dream that I hold in my heart for my home to look like. She homeschools. She road trips with all of her kids! But this is what makes her amazing. In all of the things that she successfully accomplishes, she is not prideful, she is not boastful, she is not holding herself up on a pedestal. In fact, she does the opposite. She does not fill her day with "I can not's", but instead she says, "I can!" and DOES!
I was so blessed to meet her, because she inspired me! I have been so surrounded by an attitude of defeatism (I would do XYZ if I had less children, or more time, or more money, etc etc). But seeing this beautiful woman accomplishing so much showed me how wrong my thought processes have been. I CAN do anything I set my mind to. There is enough time in a day to accomplish everything I have in my heart to accomplish. All it takes is proper planning and mapping things out.
I was so encouraged to meet her. I won't post her name all over this page because it might cause her to feel awkward. I hope she knows how thankful I am to just know she exists! :)
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