I AM. IT’S ENOUGH.
By
Vicki Hinze
We’re bombarded all day, every day with messages. We’re too fat, too thin, too bald, too locked into bad habits. We need whiter teeth, stronger this, more of that.
The message to us is, we’re flawed. And if only we’ll do this or that, then we’ll be better. More perfect. More like the image someone, somewhere—usually someone trying to sell us something—thinks we need to fit.
The problem is, we’re not one-size fits all. We’re unique individuals and we all have special gifts, special purposes, special goals and dreams and desires.
That’s not to say we lack ambition or the desire to be our best. Nor is it a license to park ourselves and meekly accept our imperfections. Not at all. It is to say that we are who we are, and we are on a journey called life. And each step on that journey takes us closer to, or farther from our destination, goals and/or objectives. We know we all get off-track sometimes, and that there is value in taking the scenic tour and detours. We gain something in every effort.
So if we gain something, that’s growth. It might not be someone else’s vision of growth, but it is our growth and it dovetails into our plan and our purpose. That means it’s good for us.
Oh, those detours and obstacles and scenic tours might not be welcome. They might be a royal pain. No doubt, they make us uncomfortable and sometimes agitate and annoy us. But the fact is, they spawn growth, and growth gives us wisdom and insight and helps us get on, and stay on, the right path for us. They help us achieve what we want to achieve.
So if that’s the case, why must we fall to the bombardment telling us we fall short? We’re too whatever? Why must we take all that “you’re lacking” stuff in and believe it? Why can we not instead say, I am. It’s enough?
We know who and what we are. We know we’re moving and not stagnate. We know we aren’t perfect, and we have a long journey ahead. But we also know that we need the wisdom and insight we gain in our travels to get there—or even to know we’ve arrived when we have gotten there!
For that reason, we should be content where we are. Yes, we want more, to do more, to be more. But we can be content while traveling. We can recognize our own efforts. We can recall every bruise and skinned knee from our attempts that just didn’t make the mark. We can know every flaw and crack in our armor and every mistake we’ve ever made–and how we adjusted to not have those challenges on our next attempts.
We also know it has taken every single everything we have experienced and observed to make us who we are. It takes a lot of heat to temper steel, and we’ve survived heat. We’re stronger, and who we have become is good. We’re learning from our travels. Knowing it forms a solid foundation for us. And in that we should be content.
Being content isn’t settling. It isn’t saying we don’t have more travels, need more experience or more anything else. It isn’t saying we can rest on our laurels and not seek to improve whatever we can improve, including ourselves.
Being content is simply saying, we are content where we are, regardless of where we are on our journey. We’re at peace with our efforts. Aware of how far we have to go. It is saying…
I am. It’s enough.
BONUS
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© 2016, Vicki Hinze. 
Vicki Hinze is the award-winning bestselling author of nearly thirty novels in a variety of genres including, suspense, mystery, thriller, and romantic or faith-affirming thrillers. Her latest release is The Marked Star. She holds a MFA in Creative Writing and a Ph.D. in Philosophy, Theocentric Business and Ethics. Hinze’s website: www.vickihinze.com. Facebook. Books. Twitter. Contact. KNOW IT FIRST! Subscribe to Vicki’s Monthly Newsletter!
