That Girl

This weekend was a big one for our girl.  She had her first loose tooth. She chatted about it all weekend, chewed on lots of apples, and repeatedly had us check the tooth to see if it was wiggling anymore. It hasn't fallen out yet, but it will any day now. In addition to her tooth, she was also convinced that she no longer needed training wheels on her bike. 

I warned her that it might take some time. 

I told her she would probably fall. but that falling was ok. It was just a part of the process.

And then we were off. Papa, Mama, little brother, cheering her for every few feet of freedom. 

And she made some progress. She even made it down to the stop sign before falling over. 

We were all so proud of her! But what amazed me most of all was her positive spirit.

She never gave up.

She approached every fall with grace.

She looked at the progress.

She kept her eyes looking toward the goal ahead, not on the falls.

She simply saw the falls as something to overcome.

If something didn't work, she just tried it differently next time.

And she kept going further.

She's far from done. I'm sure she'll be back at it after school today, wanting to go even farther, even further.

But her sweet spirit touched my heart so very much.

It made me wonder how I face defeats in my own life. If was honest, I would admit that I often want to give up, I want to go back to bed, burry my head in my pillow, and give up on the day. I take defeat personally. 

My daughter believes she can ride her bike. She believes that she's learned the necessary skills, and that, with hard work and trust she'll get there. But in order to do so, she has to keep looking ahead. When she wobbles to the side, she falls. 

My trust needs to be the same. I have to keep looking ahead. I have to keep trusting that God has given me the gifts I need to complete each task through the day. I have to trust that He has a great purpose for me. I can't give up when a setback happens, but instead, need to keep going. 

Oh the beautiful lessons our children teach us. I think I'll always say that this child has been my greatest test, but also one of my greatest treasures in this world.