Impossibilities

This blog post is late for one very good reason:  I didn’t like my original post.  It was just kind of…meh.  So, I threw it out.  The only thing I’ve kept from it is the photograph above.  No, that dashing gentleman isn’t me.  He is the famed fencer Luigi Barbasetti who wrote the classic book The Art of the Foil.  I kept the picture because it’s just so darned cool.  I mean, look at that moustache!

Years ago, before kids and back problems, I also was a fencer.  I wasn’t the best fencer, certainly not in Barbasetti’s league. but I loved the sport and medaled in a few tournaments.  I qualified for Division II nationals twice, once in sabre and once in epee.  But, I never attended either event; I let someone else go in my place.  Even though this was as close as I’d ever get to fence in the Olympics (my dream as a child), I decided not to go.  I came up with some sort of excuse – work, family, I really don’t remember – but it was just an excuse.  The real reason I didn’t go was because I truly believed in my heart that I wasn’t as good as the other fencers who would be competing.  And maybe I wasn’t, but I’ll never know for sure.  But, the thought of competing and winning just seemed like an impossibility.

I’ve been confronted with other impossibilities in my life, just as I’m sure you have.  My current impossibility is learning to swim (the last lesson was a disaster), but there have been plenty of others.

What makes something seem impossible?  Sure, we all have limitations along with our talents.  For example, I don’t have the talent, youth or athleticism to be an Olympic fencer.  It’s impossible:  That’s just a fact.  But there is no physical reason why I’m unable to swim.  The problem is in my mind; I decided 50 + years ago that it would be impossible for me to learn.  And now I’m having a difficult time changing my negative thinking.

My brother used to say to me “Can’t never did anything.”  If you go through life with the attitude you can’t do this or can’t do that, you’re finished before you’ve even started.  You’ve already made whatever challenge you’re facing impossible.  Maybe you’ve experienced something like that.  Maybe you’re experiencing something like that right now.  If you are, there is good news.

The Bible is full of impossibilities.  Or rather I should say, people facing impossible situations.  Take Moses, for instance.  Here was a man chosen by God to do something monumental:  help free the people of Israel from slavery in Egypt and lead them to the promised land.  Moses saw this as an impossible task, at least for him. 

You may remember that when God called Moses into a position of leadership, Moses was a fugitive.  He was on the run for murdering an Egyptian and hiding his body.  Not a very promising start.  But, God saw something special in Moses, even if Moses didn’t see it in himself. It is almost comical watching him try to wiggle out of God’s call.  He certainly had enough excuses –

1. I’m not good enough to go to Pharoah and demand the Israelites’ freedom
2. The Israelites won’t listen to me – they don’t even know who you are.
3. And even if they do listen, they probably won’t believe me.
4. ..I’m a terrible public speaker.

For each excuse God had an answer.  God was with Moses each step of the way, and provided the necessary tools for him to be successful.  In the end not only did the Israelites gain their freedom and a homeland, they came to know their God.  And Moses enjoyed a closer relationship with God than anyone other than Jesus.

So, what can we take away from Moses’ story?  We may never face a task as large as the one Moses was given, but God is present in our lives as he was in Moses’.  What God desires most is what every parent desires:  a relationship with His children.  And just like a good parent, God will do everything possible to support His children.  You are God’s child, loved beyond measure.  Does it seem impossible that God could love you?  It isn’t.  You just have to trust that it is true.

Perhaps the greatest impossibility faced by anyone in the Bible was giving birth to Jesus, the Messiah, the Son of God.  That job was given to a young (maybe 14 year old) Jewish girl who lived in a nowhere town.  And what was the message that came out of Mary trusting God and saying yes to this impossibility?

“Nothing is impossible with God.”  (Luke 1:37)

I left my swimming lesson last night thinking that maybe this is impossible for me and I should just give up.  But, then I just happened to run across this cartoon my mother-in-law was given when she was battling cancer –

She didn’t give up.  And neither will I.  With God all things are possible.  And He has enough confidence for the both of us.

God bless. Stay well and wear your mask.