Capable: by Sherysse Morris

You are much more capable than you can imagine. You cannot know the depth of your capacity until you experience what you thought would break you. Even now, you have barely begun to scratch the surface of what you are capable of. Phil. 4:13 I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.

As a mother of two sons, I think about pregnancy and a mother’s extraordinary ability to endure the pain of active labour. Somehow, once that baby is placed in her arms, the intensity of the pain begins to soften in her memory. How many times have you felt broken beyond repair? How many times have you thought, This is it, I won’t make it through this time? And yet, here you are. Still living and still breathing.

You have survived moments of incredible grief and loss. You have endured heartbreak, uncertainty and financial struggle. You have made it through every experience you once feared might undo you. Even before I had truly leaned into my faith, I leaned into my ability to figure things out. I remember my first night alone as an adult. I slept with a baseball bat beside my bed. I was terrified and probably slept very little, as every creak and groan of the house seemed amplified once I closed my eyes. At one point, I sat bolt upright after hearing what sounded like a drunken man stumbling around outside my home, making strange groaning noises. I remember thinking, This is it. I won’t make it through the night. Ten years later, I lay my head on my pillow each night and enjoy the sound of silence without fearing for my safety. I have grown to find comfort in my season of aloneness. What I once thought would break me has become a place of peace. The thing I feared has shown me that I am safe, that I can trust myself and, most importantly, that I have never truly been alone.

I cannot begin to imagine the strength of the human spirit until it is faced with what once seemed impossible. For me, strength has rarely felt like a choice. I became strong because I believed there was no other option. I became resilient because life required me to get back up. I became resourceful because I had to find another way forward. Again and again, I picked myself up after being knocked down, not because I never felt tired, afraid or defeated, but because something within me refused to quit. Romans 5:3 We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. 4  And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation.

Looking back, I can see that God has not wasted a single difficult moment. Every hardship has produced something in me. Every season has strengthened my perseverance, shaped my character and taught me where to place my hope. Sometimes I wish God had handed me an easier path, but then I remember that these moments have shown me how capable in Christ I am. They have taught me to trust that I will find a way, while restoring my faith in the One who has been making a way all along.

God has a plan for me. That much I know. Perhaps it has taken a few lumps and bumps, wrong turns and painful lessons to lead me toward it. But I also know this with certainty: There is no quit in this heart of mine! Not because I am expected to carry everything alone, but because God has met me in every moment I thought I could not continue. Together, we keep going, and in Him I am capable. Heb. 13:5b For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”