One time, I saw a story about this German Shepherd. She was pregnant with puppies. One day she was walking across the street and was hit by a car and both of her back legs were broken. She was able to drag herself off the street and back to her house. As the weeks went by, she began to slowly recover. But because her legs weren't properly reset, she dragged her back legs when she walked. Her joints had been messed up. Eventually, she had her puppies. They seemed to be healthy and whole, but a few weeks later when the puppies started walking, they dragged their back legs just like their mother. The owner was dumbfounded. He thought maybe they had been injured in the accident as well. He took them to the veterinarian to have them checked out. The doctor discovered there was nothing wrong with the puppies at all. They were perfectly healthy. Those puppies were simply copying their mother. They walked that way because it was all they had seen modeled. In their minds, that's the way they were supposed to walk.
That's what happens with people, too. We model what we saw growing up. The people who raised us were doing their best, but in some ways, they were dragging their back legs, so to speak. Maybe they were negative and discouraged. Now we live negative and discouraged. Maybe they had addictions and low self-esteem. Now we struggle in those same areas. Or, maybe they made poor choices in relationships and got involved with the wrong people. Now we're dealing with the same issues. We saw them accept mediocrity. Now mediocrity has become normal to us.
The good news is that just like those puppies, there is nothing wrong with your spiritual legs! Those are simply wrong mindsets that you've developed. As you get your thinking straightened out, your legs will straighten out. God didn't make you faulty. He didn't create you subpar. He created you in His image. You are His masterpiece crowned with favor and equipped with talents and gifts. You are destined to live a great life: healthy, abundant, happy, faith-filled. Now don't go around dragging your back legs. You are not supposed to go through life feeling inferior, with low self-esteem, addicted and with little goals and dreams. That's not who you are. Start reprogramming your mind. Program it with excellence not mediocrity. Program it with abundance not lack and poverty. Program it with freedom not addictions. Program yourself to walk the way God walks. See His victory, model His victory, and live in His victory all the days of your life!
"Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. . . ." (Romans 12:2, NIV)