In trying to find a post for this week, as I forgot to ask someone else to write, I came across something I wrote in 2009. It struck a chord in me when I read it, remembering my feelings at the time, and also reminding me how important it is to take steps forward, no matter how small:
My son took his first steps tonight (sniffle, smile, sniffle, smile), which put me in a contemplative mood.
He stumbled, leaned too far forward to keep his balance, tried to go too fast, and needed his dad and me to be there to catch him. He went back and forth, back and forth, his face a smile, our excitement contagious. We all clapped, we all laughed, we all cheered. I wish I could bottle those five minutes and drink it up every day.
Isn't this how we all are throughout life?
We try something new, a career, marriage, a baby!, a friendship, opening our hearts, forgiving someone, embracing who we are.
It is hard. We stumble, we try too hard, we go too fast, but we keep trying. If we don't, we never learn to walk on our own, with our own confidence, our own faith, our own destiny.
We need others to catch us and stand us back up. Without our cheering sections, our successes are mere footnotes rather than headlines.
May we all take the steps that allow us to grow, but more importantly, may we applaud each other's efforts, even calling for an encore.
He stumbled, leaned too far forward to keep his balance, tried to go too fast, and needed his dad and me to be there to catch him. He went back and forth, back and forth, his face a smile, our excitement contagious. We all clapped, we all laughed, we all cheered. I wish I could bottle those five minutes and drink it up every day.
Isn't this how we all are throughout life?
We try something new, a career, marriage, a baby!, a friendship, opening our hearts, forgiving someone, embracing who we are.
It is hard. We stumble, we try too hard, we go too fast, but we keep trying. If we don't, we never learn to walk on our own, with our own confidence, our own faith, our own destiny.
We need others to catch us and stand us back up. Without our cheering sections, our successes are mere footnotes rather than headlines.
May we all take the steps that allow us to grow, but more importantly, may we applaud each other's efforts, even calling for an encore.
Elder Neil L. Andersen, speaking in the April 2012 General Conference said this:
"Jesus's call "Come, follow me" is not only for those prepared to compete in a spiritual Olympics. In fact, discipleship is not a competition at all but an invitation to all. Our journey of discipleship is not a dash around the track, nor is it fully comparable to a lengthy marathon. In reality, it is a lifelong migration toward a more celestial world.
Wherever you now find yourself on the road to discipleship, you are on the right road, the road toward eternal life. Together we can lift and strengthen one another in the great and important days ahead. Whatever the difficulties confronting us, the weaknesses confining us, or the impossibilities surrounding us, let us have faith in the Son of God, who declared, 'All things are possible to him that believeth.'"
I love thinking that we are all on the same journey, plugging away, taking our first steps in various pursuits and callings and even trials. We are all aiming for the same goal, all equipped with the tools of prayer and scripture study to help us, all making mistakes, all trying to improve.
As I reflect back on that time with my son seven years ago, I am again grateful for a loving Heavenly Father who cheers our efforts, large or small, and who provided a loving Savior to redeem us from our stumbles and our falls.
I, for one, will continue to take my baby steps, moving forward, and celebrating each moment that brings me closer to the person I want to be for now and for eternity.
Awesome analogy
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