You are enough

Rushing out the door to her car, she looks down at her watch. She's already late. Her boss has warned her repeatedly about her habitual tardiness. If she didn't have to tell her seven year old ten different times to get out of bed, perhaps the morning routine wouldn't be so hectic and so stressful. A mile and a half from school, the brown haired boy in the back seat has a confession, "Mom, I forgot my library book and my spelling words." Her lunch break was already going to be rushed and abbreviated today, and now she'll spend her only hour of alone time, doing what her son should have done this morning. This evening, it's homework, baseball practice, baths, and bed. Some days it's more than she can handle. As a single mom, she wonders how much more she can take. Who is going to be strong for her? When will she ever get a break? Struggling to fall asleep, she can't shake the thought, "I'm just not enough." 

It wasn't like he was a bad kid, but when you grow up in the neighborhood he did, with the influences he had all around him, it was no surprise he was in and out of juvenile detention and country jail since he was in middle school. He's just another statistic. When money was tight, as money often was, he earned it however he could. He earned it the only way he'd ever known, hustle. He sold drugs, he stole, he lied, and he cheated. The last time in lock up was his last time, at least that's what he told himself. So, he borrowed a suit and tie from his probation officer, he shaved his face, and he shined his thrift store dress shoes. After a full day of filling out resumes, and checking the box next to "felon," he doesn't expect the phone will be ringing anytime soon at his mom's house. Walking past the familiar faces on the sidewalk, he walks up the stairs to the stoop where his gray haired mother smiles and asks about his day. Pulling down hard on his tie and pushing past his mom, he angrily exclaims, "I'm just not enough." 

She was the first female Vice President of her company. She earned her title and her pay by hard work and determination. It was as if she was born for this role. She was firm but fair. She genuinely cared about her direct reports. She was forward thinking, but lived fully in the present. Too bad the CEO didn't recognize any of those attributes. His expectations for her were unrealistic, and short of saying women didn't belong in her role, she knew where she stood with him. The board of directors recognized what the CEO never would, not only was she capable, she was critical to the company's success. The CEO's hateful emails, were followed by marked up reports left on her desk. He constantly bombarded her with invites to meetings about meetings, and never ending conference calls, meant simply to frustrate the women who could one day make a run at his job. Exhausted, she pushes the button in the elevator for the garage below. She holds back tears for fear someone might join her on a lower floor. Looking at her reflection in the mirrored walls, she thinks to herself, "I'm just not enough." 

There is a documentary on Netflix about the late, great Billy Graham. Reverend Graham was almost more myth than man. He was a pastor above all pastors. He exuded love and kindness throughout his life. When you hear him preach, and you listen to his words, you can't help but pay attention. It's thought that Billy Graham preached to more people face to face, than any other individual in the history of the world. Despite being such an enormous figure of faith, despite being recognized globally, and held in the highest regard by world leaders everywhere, Reverend Graham wasn't always the confident preacher you would recognize in audio and video clips from decades prior. Back when he was a young man, back when he was just Billy, he admitted that he dismissed the initial call on his heart to ministry because he felt he "just wasn't enough." 

On the day after Easter, after the candy is eaten, and all the eggs are found, it's easy to slip back into our routines. It's easy to see some form of ourselves in the above scenarios. It's easy to think the same thought, "I'm just not enough." We have to carry the message of Easter with us however. God sent His son to die for All. His salvation wasn’t reserved for the holy and the elite. His blood was shed for everyone. He came for me, and He came for you. Jesus suffered...for you. He was a Savior that was fully God, and fully man. As a man, He hurt. As they forced a crown of thorns onto His head, they humiliated Him, and they mocked Him. He could have stopped it, but He didn't. He endured it...for you. They beat Him, and ultimately they nailed Him to a cross. In suffering and dying, He showed you unequivocally and unambiguously how much He loved you. He wanted to prove to you clearly how much you mean to Him. When He uttered His last words saying, "it is finished" He also told you, "I love you, and you are enough." 

Much Love, 

Adam