FACING THE GIANTS

My little granddaughter is a big girl this year. She started Pre-K.  It’s an all-day, everyday affair, not just those few hours in the morning like when she was a kid.  After the first day she told her mom and dad it was good, but she just “missed everyone way too much.”  Yet, she returned in the days that followed and seemed to be doing well.  Then it happened.  It hit her one morning and as she stood in the hallway outside of her classroom about to say good-bye to her mom, a few tears rolled down her cheeks.  Then came the deluge.  Her mom comforted her and suggested she take a deep breath, which she did.  She calmed down and then a repeat.  Her emotions got the best of her.  After several more deep breaths, her mom asked her if she was ready to go into her room and this little girl said she was, but first she had to wipe her tears off her face.  Her shirt did the job and she turned, walked into her room, and sat down on the floor.  She didn’t look back.  What a big girl!

Like this precious little one, so many times in life we come face-to-face with a challenge that calls us to step out of our comfort zone. Ugh.  It’s scary.  We can’t do it.  Who thought we could? This little 4 ½ year old was a star.  She was in touch with and had the freedom to share her emotions (thank you wonderful daughter of mine), she was open to receiving the support she needed, and then she made a decision to courageously step forth to confront her fears.  She’s got the recipe down pat!  She doesn’t know it yet, but she’ll follow these steps many times over her life span, and that’s just fine with me.  Feeling insecure, afraid, and maybe even alone, can sneak up on all of us from time to time.  We just have to remember to let it all out with people we trust, hold a strong hand, take a deep breath, and make a decision to move forward!  These experiences all contribute toward making us people of strong character and the folks that others turn to when they need to confront their own giants—suffering produces perseverance, perseverance produces character, and character produces hope in a God that is worthy of our trust.