Prove Me

     I remember many times hearing, seeing, and experiencing the trial of approval on the playground in the words: prove it.  Sometimes it was skipping one bar or two on the monkey bars, others times it was racing to a destination.  Ultimately it was to gain approval or acceptance from others.  Oh how grand was the feeling of acceptance when the task was accomplished!  And what excitement I saw and even myslef demonstrated when doing the task.  It was easy to want to do this knowing the result.  This was a lesson I learned at a small age and quie recently I needed a reminder of as an adult.
     With how much excitement or motivation do I face similar trials today?  Definately not the same degree as I did when I was a child.  Sometimes we find ourselves with our backs to a wall, with no outlet, hearing those same words:  prove it.  How glad I was to stumble upon a twist to this phrase.  In Psalms 26: 2 it reads, "Examine me, O Lord and prove me; try my reins and my heart."  We may not always know why we face some very difficult trials, but we can take comfort knowing that the Lord knows why.  He knows us, and because he knows us, he also knows what we can handle, what we will become as a result of such things.
     With this new insight I've chosen to face challenges with this attitude:  prove me.  I can handle it.  I will make it through, and in spite of it all I will become more like the person God wants me to be.  I am his child, therefore I have the potential to become like him (Romans 8:16-18)