When God Did the Impossible in My Life

faith fitness Jul 14, 2020

When God Did the Impossible in My Life

(Press play to listen to this new episode of Strong. Confident. His. Podcast above or enjoy reading below.)

I have a confession, sharing personal stories isn't always easy for me, because it's never easy to admit all the doubt, fear, and discouragement I've experienced pursuing my goals.

You know those moments when you think, "Oh I could never do that, or why is it so hard, and why does success seem so easy for other people?"

If you're really struggling today, I'm sharing personal stories to show you that no matter what it looks like, God's not done with you.

Sometimes we need to intentionally look back on all He has brought us through to remember how good He is.

I call them HIMPOSSIBLE moments!

This scripture speaks to this perfectly:

Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us. (Ephesians 3:20)

My Brave Moment

I was driving to Tucson one chilly February morning, I can still picture the sky. It was beautiful shades of pink, orange, and purple and the sun was barely peeking over the mountains.

I was alone on the road and excited about speaking at a women’s church group.

The topic was a great one: how to have a physically, emotionally, and spiritually healthy heart.

I was excited, but I found myself really struggling.

This talk was going to be harder than others because this church was where my father went to Church, and I hadn’t been there since he had passed away.

It was about a two-hour drive, so I had a lot of time to fight back the tears and prepare my mind for what I had to do.

I didn’t want to show up looking like a mess with mascara running down my face. (A Jesus-loving hot mess!)

I was determined to do my best for these ladies, I started flipping through my playlist, and I heard two songs with the title, Brave. Sensing a theme, it made me really think about what it means to be Brave.

These songs were exactly what I needed to hear. Isn’t God’s timing perfect?

I felt weak. Can you think of a time when you didn't know how you were going to do something or get through something, but you knew you had to?

Sometimes we need to show up in the spirit...even when it’s hard, really hard.

This is true in our fitness, in our health, and in our daily lives. And, when we are brave enough to turn our eyes to God and away from our problems, and even our excuses, and find the strength to become the women He has made us be, you better believe that is something worth celebrating.

So, let’s choose to be brave.

Let’s be brave enough to stick to our commitments, brave enough to believe in ourselves, and brave enough to trust that God is working all things together for good.

I love acronyms so I created on for you, it’s from my book: Faith Inspired Transformation.

Believing, rejoicing, and abiding in God and vanquishing our foes and enduring all things with His help are the ways in which we become brave.

We can do these things because He is with us always.

However, apart from Him, we can do nothing.

That’s why this journey is about taking control of our bodies and then handing that control right back to God to find lasting health. Thankfully, He doesn’t make us do it on our own, and we show our courage when we release that control and trust that He is the one who changes everything.

I think we need to celebrate and even write down when God has done the impossible in us.

Like Jesus said in Luke 18:27,

“The things that are impossible for people are possible for God.”

When we look back on our lives, we often see where God was working.

But isn’t it so hard when we’re in the middle of it waiting for answers?

Looking back makes me know He is there enabling us to survive issues we never thought our hearts could handle.

My Himpossible Fitness Story

When I turned 40, I was a new mom, I had Giavella at 38, so after 18 months of nursing, I was ready to do something that made me feel like me again.

Don’t get me wrong, I loved being a mom, but I missed feeling like myself.

Something about turning 40 and having a baby made me take notice of what society says, "You're too old now, give it up, you're a mom, those days are over."

But God within me was louder than the lies.

I saw that I had a choice, I could believe the lies that I was too old and it was too late or I could go for it!

So, as I gently pushed my eighteen-month-old daughter on the swings one warm summer evening, I told my husband that I wanted to compete in the Fox Sports Ms. Fitness USA competition. It was almost embarrassing to say, but my sweet husband just smiled and said, “Okay!”

Now I don’t know if you’re familiar with fitness competitions, because they haven’t been around for years. They were on TV and had multiple rounds: Speaking, evening gown, and a grueling fitness routine which was my favorite. You can watch it, here.

I think something about always wanting to be a gymnast and dancer as a child, made this feel like a do-over for me.

It had been about seven years since I had won the ESPN Fitness America competition. And It was going to be a long, hard road back to one-arm pushups, flips, splits, and handstands!

Needless to say, I prayed about it with my husband Billy and consciously decided to choose to be okay showing up as me in this new season of life: a new mom, older, and overcoming recent injuries.

On the days I went to gymnastics practice, my body hurt, everywhere! And I was tempted to quit. I remember giving my daughter a bath at night and squatting down on the floor and struggling to get back up because I was so sore, but this small voice inside of me said to keep going.

After 8 weeks of intense training, I was finally standing on the Ms. Fitness USA stage, and what was interesting was the freedom God gave me.

I didn't care if I won or lost. I looked around and felt so blessed to be in the company of such talented women, knowing that I had already won the greatest prize along my life’s journey: a lifelong relationship with God.

I remembered the overweight, unhappy person I had once been and felt so grateful for the love He had continuously poured into my life.

Winning or losing or placing anywhere in between didn’t matter in that moment because I was already celebrating God’s victory over the impossible in my life.

When it was announced that I had won the fitness routine portion of the competition and placed second overall, and then went on to be the only American to place in the top 5 at Ms. Fitness World.

I took it as a reminder from God that it’s never too late, and it became clear to me that He has prepared me for this victory, for a very specific purpose. It wasn’t so that I could brag about myself or find confidence in myself.

No, I believe God put me on that stage to show me that He could and because I knew I couldn’t have gotten there without Him…. and to birth in me a brand, book, workout series, and vision of helping women get fit and know their worth through Christ.

God used these moments in my life, and He has you right where you are, wherever you are, for a specific purpose as well.

Maybe it’s not exactly where you want to be, but no matter where you are, the fact remains that God is right there with you,

Can I encourage you that He is taking you where He wants you to go, and the word impossible is not in his vocabulary?

Bring it to God, all that you have, and let Him show you what’s really possible.

I’m going to pray for us.

Dear God,

I pray every woman listening recalls her HIMPOSSIBLE moment. A moment that she never forgets when she felt you carry her through and you were by her side.

Moments of doing and going through the impossible with you remind us that we’re called to be Brave and we can do things afraid and show up in you when we don’t feel like we can.

Lord, according to your word, we believe that if we bring all we are to you, you can do far more abundantly than we ask or think, according to Your power at work within us.

In Jesus Name, amen.

I shared all of this with you today because we’re probably a lot alike.

We love God, we love our families, and we know deep down God wants us to confidently carry out our purposes in Him.

But we're busy and life gets in the way and dreams get pushed to the side. As sisters in Christ, I hope this inspires you to recall those Himpossible moments and remind you to choose to be brave.

Faith Fuel:

Luke 18:27

“The things that are impossible for people are possible for God.”

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Share your B.R.A.V.E. Himpossible moments with me.

Come say hi on social media and tell me how you’re going to be brave or God has done the impossible in your life.

I can't wait to hear about them.

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Thank you so much in advance.

I’m here for you friend!