I have had opportunity over the last four years to spend a lot of time with my kids in vehicles, particularly on our way back and forth to doctoring visits.  A week ago, I had such an opportunity.   Spending eight hours in a vehicle with a teenage boy can result in some pretty amazing conversations. 

The most recent trip had us conversing for hours on end the merits of various super-powers we would like should God decide to give us that opportunity someday.  We giggled as we spoke about what Sawyer thought my super powers would be.  He felt that since I had a proclivity to rescuing animals, particularly cats and kittens, that my super powers would have something to do with that.  I finally had to convince him that if I was stuck with cat rescue for my super power, couldn’t I, at the very least, get some super cheetah speed? 

A few more miles down the road, and he had the perfect road-worthy discussion question.  “Of all the Batman actors, which one was your favorite, Mom?”  The response was swift, “Hands-down, Adam West. What is not to love about the Pow! Kablam! era of Batman?”
My son agreed that was his favorite Batman, but his reasoning took me by surprise.  “Seriously, Mom.  With his small potbelly and love handles, Adam West’s Batman, makes me believe that I could actually be a superhero?”

A few more miles down the road, my own teen boy wonder was sound asleep after 4 hours of doctor appointments.  His words, however, were resonating in my head as I drove on.  How true were his remarks!  Over the next hours, I really thought about how our perceptions filter into our reality.  If we believe that we can do something, we typically can. But how many times do we doubt our own abilities?

The Bible is full of doubters.  Moses, Sarah, David’s brothers, Zechariah . . . but every time God showed his super POWER to equip by fulfilling His promises to them or their families.  Moses, who had a speech impediment, was called of God to lead the Israelites.  Sarah, who was of extreme age, was called to be the mother of a nation.  David’s brothers thought it laughable that a tiny pipsqueak of a boy was getting too large for his britches to think he coul take on Goliath.  Zechariah doubted that his childless, older-than-average wife would have a baby, yet she became the mother of John the Baptist.  There are countless others recorded in the Bible, but there are also so many, even today, not recorded who doubt what God is calling them to do.

I have been among those.  I was perfectly content to be a wife, mom, and teacher. When God “called”, I wasn’t sure I could be the person to write and speak about Him and share His story with others.  I’m not trained in either of those areas, and English (or Language Arts) was my worst subject in school.  Additionally, I just like to be at home. To magnify my weaknesses, I am a homebody who isn’t good with words all the time and who also has love handles herself.  But just like each of those characters, at some point, I came to understand that if God is wanted me to do this, why wouldn’t He give the abilities to do it? (Okay, I would have to work on the love handles on own.)

I took a leap of faith, and God has provided the writing and speaking materials.  Moreover, He has given me and my children real-life examples of people doing amazing things that no one believed possible.  Friends who have overcome great disappointments, tragedies, life circumstances, and doubts to go on to do incredible things. Role models that have shared with me that they too doubted they could pull off their feats, but with God’s help the sky was truly the limit.  So while, I may never master the fine art of using the grappling hook like Adam West and Burt Ward, I CAN always lean on the one, true super HERO to find the strength to do all things that are possible through him. 

Instead of waiting for whom we believe to be the right person, maybe we could all step back and realize that the right person blessed with God’s power might be the one staring back at us (wrinkles and gray roots included) in the mirror.   Now if all did that, no power could ever stop us!