Answer the Prayer [Mth 7-Day 6-Post 48]

This past August I was challenged to write out on a set of index cards twenty-five belief statements of things I know to be true but are difficult for me to truly believe, receive and live out. I was instructed to read them out loud every morning when I wake up and every night before I go to bed, the purpose being to train my mind to accept them as the truth that they are. At first I thought it would be an easy task to write these statements, which had to be in the present tense, only positive, and specific to me, my family, my work, my goals, etc. When I sat down to write them, however, I was suddenly stumped. I had to ask myself what I find hardest to believe in my everyday thinking that most seriously affects my attitudes, my behavior, my actions, and most especially, my re-actions. It took a lot of soul searching, a bunch of flush-me-out, tear-tumbling days to get down these words that over the years have been the absolute hardest for me to digest within my mind, my will and my emotions.

That’s when the biggest changes started to happen, many of which I plan to write more about this month. Tonight one particular stands out that I’d like to share. Today a friend posted this on Facebook which reminded me of one of my belief statements, a quote by Bonnie Ashton: “You are a piece of the puzzle of someone else’s life. You may never know where you fit, but others will fill the holes in their lives with pieces of you.”

Belief Statement #18: “…I am the answer to someone’s prayer!”

This is not something I have easily believed. When you grow up with so much negativity around you, being the fat joke from as young as nine years old, you definitely don’t think you’re the answer to anyone’s prayers. Well, at least I didn’t believe I was the answer to everyone’s prayers, right? But maturity means finding the happy medium between poor self-esteem and arrogance, believing that you do have something to offer this world, something that no one else can—and believing that someone out there is waiting for you to do your part, be the person you were made to be, share your gifts and talents, reach out to the world around you and make it a better place somehow, some way, any way—as long as you do it!

Ever since I wrote those words down on paper, it has become easier for me to believe. Lately, it has really become a reality because I have been helping people I would not otherwise have a means or an opportunity to help. Some people have even said those exact words to me without knowing anything about my index cards. The best part is, the people I’m helping are starting to reach out and help others too, the beginning of an incredible ripple effect that has no boundaries. The only limitation is in one’s mind—do you believe that You are an answer to someone’s prayer? If not, write it down. Tape it to your mirror. Read it again and again until you believe it. Then go answer that prayer.