The Power of Yet

By Jenny Dendinger

It’s so easy for me to view the saints as people that had extraordinary faith and lived exceptional lives. While I know that might be true, it’s also unhelpful when I see myself as ordinary.

By assuming that their level of faith is out of my reach, I reinforce the lie that I lack the ability to achieve sainthood. Without even realizing it, I am rejecting God’s plan for my life.

How often do we comment, “I’m no saint!” as an excuse for our human faults? I mean, technically, it’s true. I’m a broken mess. But as I like to remind my children when we are striving toward a goal, it’s so important for us to add the word “yet” to the end of our sentences.

If my child is struggling to write an essay and cries, “I’m not a good writer!” I lift their head and remind them, “YET.” If they don’t understand a math lesson, we practice saying, “I don’t understand how to work out this problem YET.”

On your hardest days, when you’re feeling stuck in sin and overwhelmed with discouragement, you might be tempted to say, “I’m no saint!” My hope is that in those moments, you will feel the strength of the saints in heaven helping to pick you back up again. I pray that they will cradle your tearful face, lift your chin and point your eyes to the heavens as they remind you to add on that very important and powerful, “Yet.”

While it’s true that I’m no saint, it’s also true that I’m a work in progress. I’m no saint YET. But every day I pray and hold onto hope that with God’s help, someday I will be.

The race isn’t over until it’s over, and it isn’t over yet.