My aunt always told me “Can’t never could.” I’ve also heard it said this way, “If you think you can’t or if you think you can, you’re right.” It’s crazy how much your belief in your ability actually affects the outcome of your performance. When you choose to believe that you aren’t able to reach your goals, then there’s no way you’ll ever put forth the effort required to actually reach them! Conversely, hope is a strange and powerful tool to have in your belt.
Throughout my life, I’ve been told a lot of things weren’t possible. But, thankfully, I’ve been raised to listen to wiser voices—voices that told me I’d never achieve what I didn’t try to achieve. Can’t never could. If you don’t try, you definitely won’t succeed. Ever hear the one that goes like this: “If at first you don’t succeed, try try again”? I have. What about this one: “Failures are the building blocks to success”? Someone once asked me “Have you failed enough to succeed?” Are you starting to see a theme here?
But what do you do when the voices press in around you like shadows in the night? How do you combat the people who tell you you can’t do something? Who do you turn to for encouragement and reassurance? Sometimes, you find yourself in situations where there aren’t many people around who will build you up. Some topics are too touchy. And some things the culture has decided just flat out aren’t possible. How do you keep the faith and persevere then?
Now, let’s get one thing straight. I’m not talking about things like growing ten feet tall or living to three hundred years old. Is it possible? Yeah, sure. Anything’s possible. But will I grow ten feet tall and live to be three hundred? Not gonna happen. There is no amount of hard work, no amount of money, and no power under the sun—other than God Himself—that will make me able to swim across the pacific and live through it. The good news is, that isn’t my dream.
Most people who know me will tell you hands down that I’m not an optimist. But, I’ll argue ’til I’m blue in the face that I’m not a pessimist either. I’m a realist. Typically, I’m a very positive and encouraging person. It’s not that I’m unpleasant to be around; I just don’t shout sunshine and roses at every street corner. I’m too analytical and practical for that. So, no, I’m not saying that if you squeeze your eyes and wish on a star you’ll wake up in the morning with a million dollars under your pillow in exchange for a tooth. What I am saying, though, is that if you plan, if you believe, and if you pray, “all things are possible through Christ, who gives me strength.” (Phil. 4:13)
My point is that as long as you don’t believe you can, you won’t. As long as you do believe you can’t, you won’t. But the day you begin to have hope, the day you say “what if…” that’s the day everything changes. “Where there’s a will, there’s a way.” If I believe my goal is possible, then I begin to find ways to make it happen. If you don’t ask, they answer will always be no. At least when you step out and attempt something, there’s a chance. If I have hope, no amount of darkness can snuff out that light. No matter how many times I fall, I can get back up again as long as I believe there is a way. While it may be pointless for me to try to walk through a door, I can take a step back and look for a door handle.
When I was younger, I was often told that I colleges didn’t give free rides anymore. People said it was a nice idea, but that I’d never get a full scholarship to a school. The way I grew up, my parents weren’t going to pay for college. I didn’t have any money. So, I certainly wasn’t going to pay for school. A full scholarship was my childhood dream. Oddly, the older I got, the less I thought about it. But I always knew it was possible. Low and behold, what happened when the time came for me to apply to colleges? I applied to two schools and was accepted into a work-study school that conveniently provides every student admission with…drum roll please…full tuition scholarships for every year.
Huh? Now, what was that naysayers? That’s right. I went to school for five years and worked my way through. The college generously bestowed a full tuition scholarship to me every single year. I did pay for books, living expenses, and a few other class fees, but I never paid a dime for tuition. I graduated with no debt and a bachelor’s degree. People said it couldn’t be done. I beg to differ.
My dreams have moved on and grown even bigger, and still I feel resistance all around me. I am determined to live my life without debt of any kind for any reason at any time. I have decided I don’t want to owe anyone any money. Ever. That means, I don’t care about credit or FICO scores or loans for houses and cars. I am making an intentional choice to live in such a way that I will only ever make purchases with money I have in the bank or in my hands. And I can hear the screams through the screen. We live in a culture that says it’s not possible. It isn’t done. But I defy that falsehood and say it is possible and it is done. And I will do it. I will be living proof that you can. I choose to disbelieve the voices that tell me otherwise.
Furthermore, I dream of building a house one day—a house that is paid for up front in full. I have sketches of rooms on graph paper, ideas and designs. One day, I’ll build a house from the ground up. I’ll work with the contractors and I intend to learn from them as they bring the designs to life. I’ll have a two story library, a spare bedroom, a writing room, a grand kitchen, and a full basement. That’s the plan. And because I believe it can happen, because I am planning ahead of time for it to happen, one day…it will happen.
Money matters aside, I want to encourage you tonight. Don’t listen to the voices that shoot you down before you’re even finished. Don’t let them tell you the success stories are a hoax. Don’t let anyone tell you you are a victim and that you’re stuck. Don’t believe that there’s never a way out. You may be a victim, but you don’t have to stay a victim. You can become a victor. You can win. You can defeat whatever circumstance you find yourself in. Christ has already won the war. Victory is already His. And with God by my side, who can stand against?
Let them scoff. Let them mock. Let them wallow in their own mess. Just because they believe they can’t do it, they choose to tell me I can’t do it. But I don’t have to listen. I choose to live a better life, to be a better person, and to provide a better future. “Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars.” You may never fly to the moon with nothing but the clothes on your back, but I believe with a little help, you can move mountains.
Love always,
Coralie
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