I can!

“There’s no such word as ‘can’t’ in the dictionary,” a statement often heard from my mum as I was growing up, usually in response to being asked to help out, tidy my room, or some other such task I didn’t want to do! Yes, I was the typical Mary, Mary quite contrary….anything I was asked to do I tended towards doing the opposite, a trait which still rears it’s head many years on! My husband Ray would nod his head vigorously at this statement!

This morning I watched an interview with ‘Mr Bean’ aka Rowan Atkinson and was struck by his resilience in consciously ripping off the ‘t and choosing to believe ‘I CAN!’ In spite of being told by teachers, peers and others that there was nothing distinguishing about him both in appearance and ability he chose to see the positives that he had been gifted with and went on to achieve amazing results. I guess I identified most with his struggles because of a stammer. Yet, like Moses he chose to see what was placed in his hands, fulfil his potential and be a channel for good in the lives of others.

I am fortunate to enjoy many glorious views around where we live in South Africa. When hiking, my mind is often performing somersaults around many different thoughts and images. Our life journeys are somewhat akin to climbing a mountain; at times it seems like I’m never going to make it to where I want to be, at others just stopping and drinking in the view, breathing in the fresh air, seeing where I’ve come from just gives me the a fresh burst of energy to continue. And when I arrive at the top, even if I’ve been there before; I’m left awestruck alongside an amazing sense of achievement….always well worth pushing through!

Working with children who learn differently, are differently abled and families in need of support and other interventions, my moments of greatest joy and measure of being on track is when I see their eyes light up as they move from “I can’t” to “I can!” I am so grateful to God for the tools he has placed in my hands that can play in a part in that process. No matter who we are, or what our circumstances are, we each have incredible God-given potential, uniquely & intricately woven together in the womb to grow and develop into all that we were created to be and for. Some believe that God is just a crutch for those who aren’t capable of making it on their own , but I have to say here that the greatest decision I ever made was when I decided to follow and live for him because he is the source of who I am and ever will be, he is the hope giver and sustainer of life who cuts out the ‘t from can’t, who turns what was meant for harm into good! In my darkest times I’ve learned that when I say “I can’t,” the echo that I hear back from my Creator is, “I can!” and he does!

“I can’t” may only be two little words, but when allowed to dictate what we do or do not do, can hold us back from living fulfilled lives through discovering and reaching our full potential. We are shaped by the things we are told in our formative years, our learnings, our interactions with others and situations that we find ourselves in whether positive or negative. I spent a good deal of my life staring into my rear view mirror  that screamed out at me “I can’t!” rather than letting of the past and driving ahead into a future filled with “I cans!”

One day I was working with a little boy named Acha; a little boy with a huge imagination,  endless supply of energy, big struggles to focus for any period of time and so I could go on. I’d arranged a few activities on a table and asked him to choose one. He took a while before he returned to me with the one he had chosen, and when I looked, he had separated the activities to two sides of the table. When I asked him why he had done that he replied that one side were the activities he felt he could do and the others were the ones he couldn’t. I asked him why he felt he couldn’t do a number of them and his reply was; “because they look like the things that everyone says I can’t do!” Over a period of weeks, we broke each activity down and he mastered them all with great excitement.

My challenge to myself each day is “am I living my day to its fullest? Am I helping each person I come into contact with by my words and actions live their day to the fullest and best?”

One of my favourite verses in the Bible and one I’ve learned to declare over each day that dawns is the following:

That’s what  makes my “I can’t” become “I can!” I don’t have to strive or stress; I’m in the hands of the one who makes the impossible possible! I  just need to stop staring into my rear view mirror and drive forward into all that’s before me. Hope you’ll join me!