Learning to walk...

Every day you can find videos of babies learning to take their first steps. They, of course, make you smile. To see those precious chubby legs stagger forward evokes memories of our own children taking those first steps that eventually became long walks...walks away from home and into their own lives. Okay - so now the smiles are getting a bit misty. Those first steps were usually TOWARD you. As they get older, their steps seem to carry them away, and let's be honest - that can be hard.

Just as difficult as watching them walk away, can be watching them fall. 

When they are tiny, we might help lift them to their feet, but we also encourage them to try again. What we don't usually do is pick them up and tell them it's okay - that they don't have to walk if they don't want to. No, we help them up and cheer as they stumble forward...because that is love.

Sometimes, a child might need extra support because their legs don't work the way they should. In those times it can be even more painful to watch them struggle with the pain of learning to walk - and more rewarding when they finally overcome. 

So what's all this "walk talk"? 

I am currently learning to watch my own children walk. Those who know me realize I'm NOT talking about toddlers. My children are young adults. And I'm watching them learn to really walk on their own.

To be honest, it can be difficult at times. As they take their first steps, those steps usually carry them away from home...and sometimes they stumble and fall. As a parent, it can be tempting to reach out and grab them so they don't hit the ground, but as many of my friends tell me, you have to let them fall. I've heard so often, "Don't bail them out of the situation." No, my children haven't wound up in jail, but we often bail them out of the problems of life. We hate to see them suffer, but let's be honest, most of us can't afford to "pay the bail" for everything they can find to get into! We want to protect them, but how do you put a bumper pad on life?

I'm also learning another hard lesson. When they fall, it's not necessarily ME that needs to help them up. I'm learning to let them fall and let God catch them instead of trying to do it myself. I can hug and love and definitely pray, but ultimately it is God who will help them back on their feet. 

I keep thinking of something that happened years ago when my son was about 3 or 4 years old, and we went to Walmart to pick up few things. He was probably chattering on about the latest Power Ranger he hoped I'd buy for him. We entered the foyer where they keep the buggies (shopping carts for those up north) and I stepped over to grab a cart. Levi was right behind me and with one hand I pulled the cart which came immediately, not hanging up at all! Miracle! We took a few steps toward the store and I heard a roar, turning just in time to see a van drive through the double doors and slam into the wall next to me. My thoughts went to my son as I whipped around. Where was he? I screamed out his name and frantically looked for him. Somehow, (with an angel's help?) he had wound up past me and inside the entryway of the store. He was safe...and I had NOTHING to do with it. I was RIGHT THERE, but there was nothing I could have done to keep him safe - but God could.

As a parent, it can be hard to realize that as much as you love your child, God loves them more. They are His. He will help them walk...and run the race He has set before them.

I won't claim I have learned this lesson completely. I sit here trying to figure out the best way to help my son deal with his first steps away from home. I watch him stumble and my natural instincts are to reach out and grab him before he hits the ground...but a random thought comes to mind. Babies are built low to the ground. When they fall, they aren't going to fall all that far. What if they didn't start to walk until they were 6 feet tall? That fall will hurt a lot more. In the same way, allowing our children to falter now will be far less painful than having them wait until they are my age. 

My parents have been gone for a long time now, but I guess in lots of ways I'm still learning to walk on my own. No fear - my Father God will lift me up when I fall.

Psalm 37:23-25
The steps of a man are established by the LORD, And He delights in his way. When he falls, he will not be hurled headlong, Because the LORD is the One who holds his hand. I have been young and now I am old, Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken Or his descendants begging bread.… 

Psalm 94:18
The minute I said, “I’m slipping, I’m falling,”
    your love, God, took hold and held me fast.