You are not behind: four ways to be exactly where you are without feeling stuck…
Brooke Keith Ministries • Pastoral Letter
Do you feel like you should be further along than you are right now?
Yea. I hear that a lot in my office.
Behind.
My best friend felt behind. This accomplished, gorgeous woman felt behind. She’d tell me over dinners, over her lobsters and her steak, and I’d always tell her she was wrong. (Did she see the lobsters and steak?) I think about it often as I grapple with my grief over losing her. Now? I too feel behind. Sometimes? I still feel stuck at that table. Wondering when she will see herself the way I always did. Ahead.
When I need the reminder or someone else does, here are four ways I remind myself and my flock that we are not, in fact, behind… we are just figuring it out at God’s pace.
01
You aren’t behind. You just weren’t prepared.
If I powered up a professional runner on healthy energy and a year of training… And then I dehydrated a professor and told them we were just going golfing? (And then tossed him in a RACE?) Guess who will seem further ahead? You guessed it. The runner. They might be too. In theory? You’re only as behind as what you are prepared for.
The professor may be smarter. The runner may be faster. One just wasn’t prepared to be in the arena life threw at them. You can’t compare the two. One wasn’t behind. One was not warned they would need to perform. You cannot judge yourself for preparing for a stroll in the park and walking into a tornado.
02
You aren’t behind. You don’t know the steps.
It’s easy to look at the woman buying the house with stellar credit and a six-figure job and feel like that should be you. Did you ever pretend you had stellar credit as a kid? Probably not. Did your parents teach you financial steps? Most of the time the answer is no. What did you REALLY dream of? A lot of times we write ourselves off as unintelligent simply based on a lack of knowledge. That doesn’t make you dumb. That just means you haven’t found the right wisdom to reach the next wrings of the ladder yet. That’s ok. Actually, that’s natural. Would you skip to the end of instructions and imagine you wouldn’t have to rebuild the whole thing? If you have ever assembled IKEA furniture I’m guessing… no. Haha There is something you do right now that comes so naturally to you that the same successful woman wonders how you managed to do it. Even if it is just surviving joyfully. She may feel behind in getting past things. Give yourself time. Learn the steps. Even if they come from YouTube. Even if they come from free college courses. Knowledge is power and you are not behind.
03
You are not behind. There is a season for everything.
The Book of Ecclesiastes tells us that “there is a season for everything under the sun.” We won’t always be in the same season as someone else. I feel like God does that on purpose. When we see someone in their sunny season? We see it is possible. When we see someone in their winter season? We see the dark times can be survived. We are all on our own journeys. We are all on our own paths. They reflect what is possible. You are not behind.
04
You are not behind because no one gets left behind.
You may feel like you are disposable. Like people just leave. Like you’ll always be “behind.” You are not behind because God doesn’t leave people behind. The Word says, “I will mot leave you. I will not forsake you.” He means that. Everything has a purpose. Even this. Even here. He will not let you stay where you don’t belong. He won’t leave you where you don’t fit and He is also too good of a Father to send you ahead not ready yet… So be patient. No one gets left behind when God writes the story.
The next time you feel like you should be further along or even just happier… breathe. You are exactly where you should be. God is writing your story. And yes. We can grow. Learn. Stretch. But maybe not tonight. Maybe tonight? We just trust Him. Maybe we put the lobster and steak in to-go plates. Maybe we get up from the table. And move on. Even if tonight? It’s just to bed.
With prayer, Pastor Brooke
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