Jesus looked at them intently and said, "Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But with God everything is possible." Matthew 19:26, NLT.
In our family we grew up with a saying, a mantra: “Moons can do anything!” The Moon family had five children, the last three of us being adopted. My younger sister, Jean, and I were seventeen months apart and both adopted from Korea as infants. On a summer vacation trip in the Badlands of South Dakota, my mother offered to have us sing for special music at a church program. Being only six and eight years in age, we were shy. Singing in public was like a nightmare for us but we managed to make it through.
The next Sabbath we were in Arkansas visiting some cousins. The leader of a children’s division at that church asked if we could sing. And if so, would we sing for church? I shook my head but didn't realize that my mom was sitting behind me. She gently jabbed me with the pointed toe of her shoe (it was not really “gently”). So we acquiesced and nodded that we could sing. As we were singing in church later, our mom kept coaching us to sing louder. Again, we made it through but with a lot of stress and anxiety.
Years later I took nursing. The first bed bath I had to give was for a young male patient who was about my age. I was so nervous while reading his chart that night that I asked God if the patient could do most of the bath for himself. The next morning as I was preparing the bath water and putting it in the basin, I tried to be calm. Thankfully, the patient needed help with only his back, legs, and feet. I know that my face felt very warm and was flushed during this trial. I breathed a prayer of thanksgiving after my hospital clinical was done for that day.
Throughout life we all have been faced with difficult times. Most of them more stressful than the ones I have shared while growing up. As the text above says though, “With God everything is possible.” God allows us to go through these experiences to prepare us for His kingdom. If we don’t go through them, we won’t be able to handle things that come our way. May I suggest that our “mantra” be “with God all things are possible”? He wants us to be an example that other people will want to follow, an exemplary servant for Him. Nothing can hold us back if we are doing His will and following the example of Him who was blameless!
Gyl Moon Bateman
First published in Notes of Joy (Nampa, ID: Pacific Press), 2018.
Carolyn R. Sutton, editor
