My girl is brave. She runs. She climbs. She torpedoes through the kiddie pool. She rescues her dollies from dire illnesses. She picks up pincher bugs with her bare little hands.
She lives life full.
But every now and then, she isn’t so sure.
Yesterday at the park, while perched on the big kid swing, she said quietly, “Mommy, I just feel a little bit nervous on here.”
“Want to come down?” I asked.
She shook her head.
I gave her a light push on the swing. All the while, she kept her eyes down, dragging her pink tennis shoes through the loose gravel, unwilling to lift them off the ground.
I could tell, everything in her wanted to swing freely. But the fear, it was real, and her usual eager eyes couldn’t hide it.
We can be brave, come through battle after battle seemingly unscathed, our hands clenching tight to our shields… and yet, sometimes, the braver thing is to let go.
My daughter is afraid to lift her feet. And I am too. Whenever there is uncertainty, an unclear road, a lack of a game plan, I am tempted to worry, to stress, to lose sleep even. I like feeling the earth secure beneath my feet. I like to feel that I am still in control of my life.
But the deep unrest comes when my short-sighted understanding is woefully limited. The questions overpower when I insist on having all the answers. Life becomes overwhelming when I think it all rides on me and my waning strength.
The thing is, our best efforts are needed in this life. Yet our best efforts were never meant to be enough. There is a chasm, and the only way across is trust.
Trusting Him.
And trusting in His ability to work all things out for our good and His glory.
Bravery often means letting go and letting God hold us and lead us to higher places. It’s learning to take Him at His word, even when we have doubts and real fears. It means we choose to rest in His love and sovereignty.
And yes, as challenging as it may be, it means we pray hard and lift our feet from time to time… trusting it’s the only way to truly fly free.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. ~ Proverbs 3:5-6
invited by grace 
Love this correlation with swinging and freedom with God. You are so right… sometimes we have to lift our feet!!
There is freedom in relying on God…. that first initial step can sometimes be hard. But He does sustain us once we put our trust completely in Him. 🙂 Thank you for your comment!
Amen… I totally agree with you. When we walk by faith, not by sight, we will be truly amazed by what He will do. God bless you!
Great post. Always love reading your messages…so much good stuff to think about.
I am really encouraged to hear that this post has given you “good stuff” to think about. Likewise, I am always left with some deep thoughts after reading your posts! 🙂 Glad we can share in this blogging community. Who knew how much fun it would be?
Your writing is really beautiful and well thought out. I appreciate it greatly.
What a lovely picture of faith!
🙂
Thank you, Heather. I trust that big or small steps, when we move out of ourselves and into a more trusting relationship with God, it pleases Him. I think faith should be a picture of joy.
Beautiful! Great reminder of surrender, letting go and letting life happen according to His will. He always writes a better story for us than we could do on our own. We should fight every day for trust and faith.
He does indeed write a better story for us than we could do on our own. You are right, it is a daily fight for trust and faith in a world so distracted by all that ultimately leaves us empty and wanting. Thank you so much for your comment here! 🙂