No Fear

It has been a very rainy summer this year in South Georgia, inches after inches, week after week. Our grass is soft and thick like the plushest carpet. This combined with a slight slope in our front yard makes the perfect path for learning to ride a bike. One day, out of the blue, Sophie decided she was ready to ride her bike without training wheels.

So we made run after run down the grassy slope with me holding on to the seat and running behind her. She was so proud of herself when I let go and she did it on her own. We continued until it started raining again and retreated inside. Two days later we were outside playing after supper. Sophie wanted to practice again. This time she wanted to ride on the drive way. So here we went again. Pass after pass, one direction and then the other. It doesn’t take much bending over a little bicycle and running back and forth after eating pizza and hot wings to get winded. Several times I suggested she go over to the grass and try by herself. “It’s soft; you won’t get hurt.”

“I’m too scared,” she’d say. So we kept going. Finally after I could no longer run with her, I told her again to go try on the grass. Again she said, “I’m too scared.”

“Why are you scared? You did it just two days ago, and you did great.”

“Well you were right there with me” she proclaimed. She knew when I was running alongside her that I wouldn’t let her fall. Even though the grass was soft and wouldn’t hurt her, she wanted to know I was there with her.

Sounds like a life lesson to me. How often do we as Christians try to deal with the trials of life without realizing that our Heavenly Father is there with us? We flounder around trying to deal with things on our own when God is right there with us. We often allow fear to seize us and keep us from doing the things God has called us to do. I love the way the Amplified Bible translates Hebrews 13:5 “He [God] Himself has said, I will not in any way fail you nor give you up nor leave you without support. [I will] not, [I will] not, [I will] not in any degree leave you helpless nor forsake nor let [you] down (^[relax My hold on you)! [Assuredly not!]” Wow, what a promise! But that’s not all; verse 6 goes on to tell us how we should respond to that promise. “So we take comfort and are encouraged and confidently and boldly say, The Lord is my Helper; I will not be seized with alarm [I will not fear or dread or be terrified].” When we realize that God is with us and will never let go of us, we can face life’s challenges without fear.

Sophie will eventually learn to ride her bike without my help and without fear of falling. Thankfully, as God’s children, we will never have to ride life’s stormy seas alone. God is always right there with us, and He will not let us fall. That’s a promise.

The Difference Between Boys and Girls

I don’t like to stereotype. Whether it is race, location (i.e. southern doesn’t equal redneck) or gender, not everyone fits into the same mold. However, you can’t deny the fact that the majority of boys and girls have certain traits in common with their unique gender.

The other day, I saw it yet again. Steve had taken off work and he and the kids brought breakfast to me at work. As they all filed into my office, Nathan immediately spotted a picture hanging on my wall. It was a photo of Steve and me and two other couples dressed up at the Captain’s dinner on a Bahamas’ cruise. Our boss had taken the entire company as a way to celebrate the company’s 25^th anniversary. A coworker had recently printed it out and brought it to me as a joke so I taped it to my wall. After I had answered several questions about it, Nathan said in a matter of fact way, “You looked younger then.” Thanks, Nathan…it was 10 years ago!

Kids…Boys…little boys… They say whatever comes to mind. Now my daughter didn’t really notice the picture, but I have an idea of what she would have said. “Mommy, you looked beautiful.” Sophie always tries to make people feel good. She tells me all the time how pretty she thinks I am or how much she loves me. She’s always hugging and kissing her family. She is very affectionate, compassionate and thoughtful.

Nathan is very literal and straight forward. He doesn’t seem to notice people as much as he notices facts. He cares about the outcome of things. Sophie cares about feelings. They are so different. Perhaps it’s just personality differences. Maybe it has a lot to do with their gender. I’m sure it’s a combination.

I think that is where a lot of parents automatically think their growing boys don’t need as much affectionate displays of love, but in his own way, Nathan still lets me know that he does. When I sit on the sofa beside him, he will snuggle up close without saying a word. When we get out of our van, he automatically grabs my hand. When he started kindergarten, I would walk him to class every day. When I gave him a hug and kiss, he would just stand there almost like a statue. It seemed like he didn’t care but endured it for my benefit. One day, while standing in front of his classroom door, I was talking to his teacher. He just stood there beside me instead of running to play with his friends. When I asked him what was the matter, he said quietly, “You haven’t kissed me yet.” I was a little surprised. He needed a kiss as much as I needed to give him one. Then toward the end of that year, he asked me to kiss him when he got out of the van instead of inside the school. Apparently, he didn’t want his friends to see. (That started younger than I anticipated.)

I have to look for it with him more than I do with Sophie, but it’s there, the longing to feel his mom’s touch and to know that he is still my little man. Boys will be boys. They may act like they don’t need or even want our hugs and kisses, but deep down, they do. So lay it on ‘em! (Maybe just not in front of their friends)