Concluding Enough

It's a sunny day, the flowers in the front bed are blooming, the lawn is green.
There is laughter coming from the swings in the back yard. This is life. This is enough.

Each day at work gets harder than the day before. You're tempted to quit, but you also can't be without an income. You can't be without a job. What would your family think? What would everyone think? This is life. This does not have to define you. You were created with a divine purpose.
You are enough.

You look around you...she's skinnier, she's more toned, she has way prettier hair, she has more money, she has cuter clothes...it could go on and on. Each one of these observations brings your own insecurities to light. This is life. He created you. He is enough. 

Why, so often, do we believe the lie? Why do we let it get to us? Why do we give it power over us?

There is always room for growth. To be stretched and changed. 

I often have to remind myself that God didn't mess up when He made me. I have quirks, idiosyncrasies, strengths, weaknesses..all things that make me unique. All things that have some sort of purpose and reason. 

I must learn to trust.

I must learn to let go.

I must learn to believe that He made me to be enough. Together, Him and I can do great things!

-A

Enough. As I am.

My father is an ambitious man. He loves to learn and grow, so much so that he has two doctorates. I grew up watching him teach, preach and help people and it made me want to follow in his footsteps. And so I did. Sort of. I started teaching Sunday school classes at the small age of 6 and ever since then I knew I  was going to be as ambitious and successful as him. My life goal: to become a teacher and change the world.

I eventually did become a teacher, but somewhere on the journey, I started believing the lie that my worth was wrapped up in my accomplishments. Out of no fault of my father, I found myself believing that my career determined if I was enough or not. Do you ever feel that same pressure? Maybe for you it's more about personal goals like when you get married, how many kids you have, or how much money you make. For me, I've had a hard time believing that I am enough even if I'm not a teacher or a successful writer or even if I don't change the world...

In recent years, God has taken that lie and turned it upside down. My "career" has taken some twists and turns that I didn't plan. It's been really tough, but with those turns, I've been pushed to sit in a place where I don't feel as "successful" and I've had quiet time to find Sheila.

To tell you the truth, the more I find the Sheila that isn't wrapped up in career success, the more I like her. The more I like her, the more I feel like she is enough. Don't get me wrong, it's a work in process. I fight the lie often, but I really believe the more I strip it all away and rest in who God has made me to be (a goofy, adventurous, loud mouthed jokester who loves people) the quieter the lie gets and someday I will be able to be a teacher and still know that Sheila is more than enough.... just as she is.

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This is probably an appropriate place to stop the blog post, but I really feel like I want to speak directly to you, the reader.

I hope you know that you, too, are more than enough. No matter what place in life you are in and no matter what unexpected turns have come and gone from your life, you ... just as you are... is more than enough. I pray that you too will have opportunities to enjoy the very core of who you are and who God made you to be!

As we journey together, let's help each other. We would love to hear ways in which you are learning that you are more than enough! Email us at picklesandpeanutbutteradventure@gmail.com or comment below!

-She

Enough. A Battle in Motherhood.

Let’s imagine that you and I are sitting at a little coffee shop, chatting over our caramel macchiatos…just catching up on life. At which point we delve into the topic of motherhood. For me, this is such a huge part of my fight with feeling like I am enough…and I would venture to guess that this is the case for a lot of moms. What would your advice be if this were the topic of conversation? Do you struggle with the same things? Do you constantly fight the battle of feeling as though you are enough for your kids? I would LOVE the chance to be able to talk to each of you about your journey through motherhood. Here is a little bit of mine.
 

It is a lot of pressure to be a mom…I mean, haven’t you heard? We are raising the leaders of tomorrow!! This is pressure, people! For me, that pressure immediately makes me feel as though I am lacking…and I’m not talking about lacking a little here and there, but rather lacking in a HUGE way.  

There have been so many days in the last four and a half years where I have felt like a complete and utter failure. So many days, where I look back on the whole day and just see situations where I could have done so much better; where I keep having to take a breath deep so I don’t lose my cool, or where I accidentally do lose my cool..so many days where I feel like its just such a losing battle and I will never be enough…enough for my kids or enough for my husband.

It is after those times, that I realize, those moments, bring about some of the best lessons – both for me and for my girls. It is those moments that teach me, form me, and grow me into a better mom. Also, after those times, I realize that my girls, more than anything else, need someone to love them. Unconditionally.  I cannot do more than to start each day striving to and praying for the strength to choose love in each situation that is placed before me. I cannot do more than to try not to repeat the mistakes of the day before. I cannot do anything more than bring my girls to the Lord in prayer and let them be His for the day….to accept my position as a tool of Him, rather the one who is charge of making everything happen. I am enough for my girls, just as I am. I am not perfect, but I am enough.

-A

Enough

As Alicia and I have plotted the next steps of this blog, we dream for it to be a blog where real conversations happen and where encouragement and inspiration flows -not that this would be a result of our own efforts, but out of an effort to pursue LIFE more abundantly. In this attempt, we want to start a Monday series (we know today isn't quite Monday) that speaks to the struggles and victories in our lives. We hope that you can relate to some of the topics we dive into (and perhaps contribute to the conversation with your comments). We are stepping out into the unknown in good faith with this series... Will you come too? 

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It was a conversation with Alicia that prompted this first series title, Enough. The conversation went something like this:

"I wish I was good at something. I mean, like really good at it. I'm tired of being the girl that dabbles at the surface of a lot of different interests and I feel like I'm just not good enough at most things..." I grumbled to my dear friend. 

"She, you know that you are more than enough! You know that just because one person may not see your talents and gifts for what they are doesn't mean that they aren't talents and gifts. When will you believe that what God has given you is exactly ENOUGH!?" 

I left the conversation with a tear rolling down my cheek and frustration overflowing. She was right. She named the struggle that I battled even as a young girl: the struggle of feeling like I am never enough. If only I was thinner, prettier, smarter, stronger, more athletic, more ambitious, more soft spoken.... and the list goes on of all the things I've never quite felt enough.

As I drove home, the conversation played over in my mind and I realized that this battle of not feeling enough dates back to the creation of the world. Eve did not feel like she was enough.... this is the lie that women believe and this is the lie we let defeat us every day. If only I was a better mom. If only I was better at my job. Why can't I be the wife I should be? Why can't I have the life she has? I wish I was better at that! I wish I could eat that and not gain weight. Do you hear lies like these in your own head? I do. Every day. 

But I decided today.

I'm done with the lie. 

I'm done feeling like I'm not enough and I'm done wishing I was more! Of course there are things I can work to change. There are areas in my life that I need to dust off, polish and brighten, but I refuse to believe I am not enough.

I want to face this insecurity and the best way I know to do this for myself is to write about it! So will you join Alicia and I on Mondays as we say Enough is Enough? Will you, too, say, "I am enough!"

-She