You Don’t Know How Strong You Are

Yesterday after work Mackenzie and I followed our usual routine — change clothes, get a snack, play. As soon as she had her snack in hand, she kept saying, “Chaw? Chaw?” She was asking where the chalk was. We found the mason jar we use to hold the chalk in her room. She promptly handed her snack back to me, picked up the jar, and toddled off to Chris’s office, where he has built a leaning 7 or 8ft by 4ft chalkboard.

At first Mackenzie was content to just color on the chalkboard (or his desk or shelves — thank goodness chalk wipes off so easily!). Then she wanted to reach higher, so I lifted her and let her run the chalk from as high as we could reach all the way to the bottom of the board.

When Mackenzie was done with that game, she wanted down. I assumed we were moving on to another game, but I was wrong.

She took the jar of chalk over to the faux fireplace in Chris’s office and set it on the ledge — It is the perfect height for her to sit on, and sometimes she uses it as a little seat. This time she had a greater purpose in mind.

With the chalk in place, she walked back over to the chalkboard, scooted it out from the wall, and looked behind it. Then, she scooted behind it and started to push. I grabbed it before it toppled on top of her, and then I realized what she was doing. I held one side to keep it from tipping and let her push that giant chalkboard over to the the fireplace. Then, she turned the chalkboard to face her (while I kept it steady from up above), sat down, and started to color.

I peeked at her from behind the chalkboard, and she started giggling. She was so pleased with herself, with this giant chalkboard just where she wanted it. We played peekaboo for a little while, and then she patted a spot on the ledge next to her for me to sit. I held the chalkboard steady while she colored until Chris got home, and then she patted the spot on her left for him to sit, too.

The chalkboard was not where it belonged, and Chris did not appreciate our redecorating efforts when he got home, but I thought it was beautiful and precious.

Late last night as I was rocking Mackenzie back to sleep, I reflected on that moment when she was pushing the chalkboard across the room. It has to be almost three times as tall as she is, and almost too wide for her to get her hands around, but she wasn’t daunted. It was a beautiful thing to see her take on an enormous task with such enthusiasm and succeed at it (with a little help from her mom).

She doesn’t know how strong she is, and it is beautiful to see her stretch her wings and grow and do big things. But I also think she doesn’t know how small she is, either. I hope that I can carry that lesson with me. More is possible than I could ever imagine. I am stronger than I think I am, and with God’s help, the possibilities are limitless.

I pray that you would carry that with you today, as well. You are stronger than you think you are. With God, all things are possible. (Matthew 19:26)