Monday, May 21, 2012

Queen Victoria Would Hate Me

Source: Pinterest
Queen Victoria would have hated me. She wouldn't have liked you either. We have two opposing ways of thinking. Victoria once said this:

"...We are not interested in the possibilities of defeat..."

Sorry, old girl, I have to disagree. I am way too interested in the possibility of defeat. In fact, it is the thing I am most interested in.

If the girl in the photo were Queen Victoria, she would have been confident. I can't wait for this ship to come in! It is going to be a fantastic journey. Better than I imagined. I've got my picnic basket & I'm ready to go!


If I were the girl in the photo, I would have been getting all wound up. What if the ship doesn't come? Or what if it sinks? Then I'll be stranded & all I have is this stupid picnic basket. I can't survive on that. Do I have enough money? If this ship goes down, I'm gonna need some money to bribe a way into a lifeboat. I hope I bought travel insurance. Where is this stupid ship? Anybody have an Advil?


I think of the potential failure rather than the potential victory. So do most of my friends. What if I date this guy and it doesn't work out?  What if I move and I don't like it? If I risk and fail then everyone will know. I will be so humiliated. What if I have a baby & turn out to be a horrible mom?

The 'what ifs ' are endless. We so quickly focus on all that could go wrong. We dream in muted colors for fear that our boldness may be too much. We sing on silent in case we are off tune. We love in controlled spurts so that we don't get brokenhearted. Our obedience to God is in small increments because we are afraid of burning out.

Queen Victoria would not have invited me over for horseback riding & tea. She wouldn't have liked my thinking. To be honest, I don't like my thinking either. There is no joy in focusing on possible defeat.

Sure, I could step out and fall completely on my face. I could be a complete failure. My decisions could be all wrong. There is a large chance that I won't measure up.

Or maybe it could go the other way. I could have a victory. I might love it. I could be better than I thought I was.

Either way, I know this. God will be with me. If I face defeat, He will pick me up & carry me back into the race. If I see victory, He will celebrate with me. God is the one who sustains my heart.

When my eyes are fixed on Him, I am no longer interested in defeat.

Thanks for the reminder Vicki. I'd love to grab tea sometime.











3 comments:

  1. "What if" seems to be my default setting. I need to just trust God and change "what if" to "so what?!"

    Lolly

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  2. This line is true of me, too: I think of the potential failure rather than the potential victory.

    And this is where I am living right now. Tomorrow is a new day, though. And I have some good words from Lark and Bloom to start it off.

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  3. You read my mind didn't you? Yes, I need to say okay this sucks or I don't know and then say, NEVERTHELESS, God loves me, will provide for me, His love is unfailing...and then walk away from the fleshy mess I am! Can I get an amen?

    Thank you for this great reminder that Gods got this...

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