Ready Set Go
Fear is such an empty emotion. It tells us that we can't do something, that it is too hard... But it is a lie. Today I saw fear in a very real way, in Isana's eyes. She wanted to try the monkey bars on the swing set. She was expecting our normal answer of no. I told her that I would have to remove the swings first. She watched me take each one off chain by chain. Finally it was clear and the ladder that we have watched her go up and down on seemed so tall. She decided she didn't want to do it anymore...
Aren't we like that some times. We say, God open this door. But when the door is finally open we slink away because now we have to stretch.
Like I said it could have ended there. But I wouldn't let Fear stop her growth. I told her to climb up those steps. Then she didn't want to reach for the overhead bars. It was too far she said. I told her she could do it but the fear wouldn't retreat. Even though she had grabbed the bars and was hanging on she was clearly afraid to move on. I held her and told her that I had her. Nothing could go wrong now. That was until she let go. Fear told her it was too much and she let go.
I know I have made this mistake. When I have seen God moving and I was certain He was there I have slowed down, given up, walked away. I'm sure that He was scratching His head just like I did.
This lesson was driven home over the weekend by my smallest daughter who was scared to go down the water slide at Hershey Park. It was amazing to see the similarities between the 2 of them. We were in the kiddie play are of Boardwalk and she was happy to kick around in the water. However every time she looked over at the bottom of the waterslide she wanted to try it. The only problem was that she had to get her hair wet by walking under the spraying fountain. The stairs took you to the slide. She hates getting her hair wet so she wouldn’t do it. She kept looking at me.
Can you help me?
Right now I am constantly asking her to use her words but all she would do was point and whimper. I do not respond to whining. (I know that this sounds harsh… It probably is). Finally after a long time and watching other kids go up the stairs she tried it and got water in her face from the fountain. She turned to me again.
Can you help me?
I asked her what she wanted me to do as I knelt down next to her. She said in a soft voice while rubbing water from her face, “Daddy Pick up. Slide”. So off we went.
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I wish I could say that she enjoyed the slide. The water that was at the bottom washed over her and into her face. However she did face her fear… Twice! ;)
Go Go Go