A dummy like me

James 1:5-6 (MSG)

If you don't know what you are doing, pray to the Father, He loves to help. You'll get this help, and won't be condescended to when you ask for it.  Ask boldly, believingly, without a second thought.

Earlier this week, I shared some exciting and humbling-to-me news on my Facebook wall, I was not bragging although many will see it that way. But hopefully, if I share my testimony, maybe they will see it from a different perspective, my humble one.

First, I should explain that I am a firm believer in praying to God like I am talking to a friend. To me, He is not only my Creator but my Best Friend. I know that I can tell Him anything and He will give me direction; and He will do so in confidence and love. Since He is with me everywhere and knows my thoughts better than I do anyway, trying to hide anything thing from Him is pointless. So my prayer to Him was simply "Father, thank You for blessing a dummy like me." Those words hit home pretty hard. As a life coach, when one of my Neighbors refer to themselves as dumb or engage in negative self-talk, I immediately chastise them. And trust me, I am not above chastising myself: "Dreama, you just referred to yourself where you resided as a kid; you don't live there anymore!" But folks, the prayer/thought was legit and it was indeed once my reality.

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As a kid, instead of building the foundation for a solid formal education, I was honestly dumb (if you don't like that term, please feel free to use a synonym of choice). I can't apologize and I wont fib or sugarcoat the truth of my formative years; I was failing and always working a grade behind. Long story short, the summer between 5th and 6th grade I got 'glasses', discovered Nancy Drew, and oddly enough those glasses corrected two problems at once: poor vision and sub-par hearing; the new year placement test put me in sixth grade - go figure. And while high school was not a breeze, I did okay. 

(Almost current day)

In my mid-forties, I was offered the opportunity to get a college education, with the support of my husband and children, I took advantage of the opportunity. And God blessed my efforts. He gave me the ability to write to make up for my poor testing skills, He gave me a person to kick me in the backside when I got stuck and didn't want to continue (Deb told me in no uncertain terms "Just get your [uh...stupid...] degree)!"
God then showed me a path of opportunity that I would never have considered as an option for myself. So, when I share my excitement, honestly, I am not bragging about my achievements but I am bragging about my God. He gets all the glory for anything I have or have yet to achieve.

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So back to yesterday's prayer - honestly, sometimes a cigar is just a cigar and sometimes a dummy like me discovers her God-given potential and matures in Christ to become the best version of herself that He will help her become. And folks, if He did this for me, He will most certainly do the same for anyone reading this post. The key is to trust, obey, listen, and seek Him first in all you do.

Of this I am convinced: God uses the simple-minded among us to show off HIS power. Psalm 121:1 best explains where my hope comes from. I am openly, honestly, and humbly giving God thanks for His hand upon my writing career and upon the N52 Project and the Beyond Series...It is His work...I'm just glad He used A dummy like me at the keyboard.

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Hey y'all, have a blessed Wednesday

In Christ with Love and Compassion,

Coach Kelly

#BeyondSeries; #YourLifeCoachingWV, #WVStrong