Lord, please help me to change - Judith Couchman

SMARTER, NO T HARIIE Reffective problem-solving strategie s and fel t "excited an d spurre dby difficulty rather tha n threatene d o r anxious. "As a result, intelligenc e playe d a small par t i n thes e stu -dents' succes s a t school . Eve n wit h "average " intelligence , th emastery-oriented student s achieve d muc h highe r grade s tha ntheir highl y intelligent but helpless-oriente d peers. 36And herei n lie s another lesso n fo r the change-oriented per -son. I f we believe w e can change , we'r e prone t o accomplish it . I fwe doubt ou r abilit y t o change, we're positionin g ourselve s fo rfailure.(j/j u t ho w do we believe i n our abilit y to change ?c/(y I t begins wit h dropping ou r damsel-in-distres s mentali -ty—the belie f b y women tha t another perso n wil l rescue u s an daccomplish th e tas k fo r us . It' s no t ungodl y o r unfeminin e t oaccept responsibilit y for ourselves. I n fact, the Bibl e say s that eac hof u s wil l account fo r ho w we've manage d ou r live s (Roman s14:10-12).I don't mea n t o sound harsh , bu t fro m m y experience, it' sthe helples s patter n tha t mos t ofte n block s women fro m thei rdreams. And nobod y ca n chang e tha t pattern , excep t us . Parent scan rescu e u s from a bad financia l situation , bu t the y can' tchange ou r inne r attitude s abou t money . A diet counselor ca ncheer u s on, bu t h e can' t los e th e weigh t fo r us. A psychologis tcan liste n t o our problem s eac h week , bu t sh e won't mak e ou rday-to-day decision s fo r us . It' s u p t o u s t o believe, t o work, t omove towar d change .And the n it' s up t o God .Somebody onc e sai d w e should wor k a s though everythin gdepended o n u s and pra y a s though everythin g depende d o nGod. This admonition ha s turned int o a cliche, and that' s th e ris kof words tha t rin g bot h profoun d an d practical : They're quote dso many time s the y turn meaningless . Bu t tha t doesn't negat e th etruth abou t wor k an d prayer , our par t an d especiall y God's part .His promises and character neve r change .Simply put , chang e begin s wit h takin g responsibilit y fo rourselves an d proceed s wit h dependin g o n God . W e becom emastery-oriented becaus e w e ste p ou t an d trus t th e Maste r wh odesires what's best for us .105