But God ...

The Lord blessed me with another "Adopted Big Kid" through this wonderful world of blogging.  Bianca is actually the one that adopted me.  (smile)  She decided that I needed a 14th child.


Anyway, Bianca wrote a blog post yesterday about Jumbo.  Yes ... Jumbo the elephant.  She said, in part ...

History says Jumbo was tethered to a 12-inch stake from the moment he could walk. The one-foot stake kept him in a certain position and disabled him to leave. Every time he tried to walk away, he couldn't. As the years passed and his size and strength increased, Jumbo believe that the 12-inch stake would not let him leave. Yes, the elephant who could lift trees from their roots was tethered to a 12-inch stake. He couldn't walk away.

I have a 12-inch stake in my life too. Since I was a child I was conditioned to believe I would have to accept a certain condition in my life. For years I would try to get away, but I felt trapped. I couldn't walk away.

As I heard Jumbo's story, my heart broke because I was believing the same illusion he was.

We have to stop believing the illusion that our problems or circumstances or childhood experiences have the power to keep us trapped. Through a divine power not of ourselves,we can pull up the stake which holds us down and move forward. We must walk away.

As I pondered Bianca's story, I thought of all of the times that Christ has pulled out the stakes in my life ... the 12" stakes that could have kept me tethered to them ... the 12" stakes made up of lies from the enemy ... lies that said, "You can't  _______ ."



... doctors said I would never have children. The Lord threw that stake away and blessed me with 13.

... statistics said that my marriage would fail, since both my husband's mom and my mom have each been married 2 or 3 times. The Lord threw that stake out and we have been blessed with 27 years together already.

... church friends called a meeting and said that we could NEVER support a large family (when we had just 6 kids ) on a teacher's salary. The Lord threw that stake out, and He has always provided for our every need.

... society said we were too poor to afford to adopt children from Africa. The Lord threw that stake out and sent us a messenger with a check for $15,000.

... my family said I was a failure because I was a college drop out. The Lord threw that stake out when a public school district hired me to create and direct a school (with no teacher certificate or college degree). The Lord blessed our school abundantly.

When the doctor's said, "No kids." I said, "But God."

When statistics said, "You're doomed for divorce." I said, "But God."

When church friends said, "You'll never support a large family on a teacher's salary." I said, "But God."

When society said, "You can't afford to adopt." I said, "But God."

When my family said, "You can't be successful and happy without a college degree." I said, "But God."


IF we really believe that God did all that His Word says that He did ... why don't we believe that He can pull out all of the stakes that the enemy has used to tie us down?

What stakes are holding you back?  

What fears?  

What lies from the enemy?  

When you hear the words or thoughts, "You can't _________", 

I encourage you to respond, "But God."  

Yes! 

He has the power to say, "You can ___________"  ...  

and He has the power to make it happen.