Baby Steps

Goodbye, April!  Hello, May?  Didn't we just say "see ya later" March?!  Spring is just one of those seasons.  When all you want is rest, warm weather and the outdoors.  And all you seem to get is pull-your-hair-out craziness, frigid temps and allergies.  By now, I imagine you've gathered that my March-April project...got axed.  Too much homework and too few clever ideas. *Sigh.* 

In the span of my relatively short life, I've realized that things only get crazier as you age.  Pressures increase.  So do opportunities.  But pressures certainly stick around longer than opportunities.  Growing up is hard.  And pining for the freedom of childhood doesn't change circumstances.  Only your outlook.

For younger readers in particular: Do you ever feel like a little kid trying desperately to fill big shoes? You know. The ones you waited to fit into for as long as you can remember. Yeah those. Unfortunately they're not quite as nice as you once thought. From a 3-foot tall perspective those fancy, patent leather shoes were ever so shiny and eye-catching. Now you realize maybe it was just the angle. Not so shiny anymore. A little more tattered. A little more smelly.  A little more uncomfortable. Not so cushy.

Your gaze soon shifts to your old pair...with a hint of longing. The shoes you took your first steps in. Maybe worn red leather boots with soft laces like mine. Memory joggers to be sure. And you find that those shoes start to look a little more appealing.

Then suddenly, something clicks. Like a tiny off-kilter gear snapping into place. You'll never fit into those sweet little shoes again. No matter how much you might wish it. Your feet are far too large. Thing is...there are places you need to walk. Places you need to run. And you can't get there in shoes that are too small. So stop trying. But you say, "Well I don't think I'm ready for them. My feet kind of slip around..."  But who says you can't take baby steps in big shoes?  God didn't say the transition would be easy.

But...He's graciously promised to sustain us when the road seems overwhelming.  
He will carry us through to the end.

"Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." ~ Hebrews 12:1-2

And as the hymn goes,"Take my feet and let them be, swift and beautiful for Thee."