THE OVERCOMER

From YouVersion Reading Plan: Fostering Hope

2 He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings.

Psalm 40:2

The lady looked older than me, but it turned out she was a couple years younger. She had 6 kids - the first was born when she was only a kid herself. They had been in foster care for several years. But were now back with her, and soon DHS would sign off on her as a mom. At that point in the conversation, perhaps a normal person with manners and social grace would have just stopped - congratulated her and bowed out of the conversation. But I couldn't help myself. I was compelled to know the whole story - to know HER. She had been on drugs - first painkillers, then marijuana, then meth. The guys she hung out with were mean, but they supplied her drug habit.

Eventually it caught up with her, and the kids were picked up. She was devastated, but she was also addicted. For two more years she was unsuccessful in her struggle against it. Then she began to break free. She went through rehab - ALL the way through. Then a half-way house. Then outpatient counseling. Then she found a job. Then she got an apartment. Then she got her kids back. What? How did that happen? These stories don't usually have a happy ending. What was the key? My parents believed in me. My friend believed in me. My counselor believed in me. My new boss believed in me. 'You are an overcomer!' I said. Her eyes met mine, and she smiled.

When we begin to see people for who they were created to be, instead of who they are on the surface, it is easier to believe in them. And when WE believe in them, it is easier for them to begin to believe in themselves. I want to believe in people. In their potential. In the possibilities of their lives. In the awareness that a bad decision is not the same thing as a bad person. In the knowledge that we all make mistakes and none of us is perfect. In the hope that the future can be different than the past.

 

How often have we been told that we can’t do things, only for that to be proven true?  Looking back I know that many of the things I wanted to do I stopped doing because I was told I can’t, it’s impossible, that wouldn’t work.  How often has this stopped you from doing what you dream of doing?  Have you continued to let it stop you?

Believe in yourself when no one else does, believe that you can achieve the impossible, believe that you can get to where you want to go and overcome the obstacles along the way.  Believe in yourself when no one else is around, and along the way you’ll meet up with others that will believe in you as well.  Turn a deaf ear to those that put you down, that don’t believe in you, what they say doesn’t matter, show them that you are an overcomer and that you will obtain your dreams!