Take off the Training Wheels

Today began like any typical Saturday. I attended a breakfast meeting with one of the church teams I'm a part of, picked up some milk from the store, and headed back home. Once there, we decided to go for a family walk. Naturally, the kids wanted to bring their bikes, so we packed up and went to one of our favorite trails by the river. Midway through our walk, our middle child decided she wanted to remove the training wheels from her bike. Did I think she was ready? Not quite, but she was confident. Without hesitation, my husband took them off, and off she went. She fell a few times but showed courage by getting back up and trying again. She didn't give up, and eventually, she succeeded!

As my husband and I watched her, he remarked, "She was ready to break off the chains!" and my heart soared. God spoke to my heart in that moment.

How often do we let life's burdens weigh us down? Am I the only one who sometimes feels stuck, but doesn't do anything to change it? Maybe what's holding us back is our comfort zone. Why is that? Is it because it's easier? Probably. I know I'm not alone in this area. I generally stay in my comfort zone, but this year, as I've been seeking the Lord more, He's been leading me to do more. It's been a slow process, and if I'm being honest, I drag my feet at times. But today as I watched my little girl go ahead on her little bike, slowly going faster and faster. I thought to myself, "No more!"

I need to stop letting fear hold me back from all that God has for me. Staying in my comfort zone is no longer an option. I must take action, not just for my children and my husband, but most importantly, for the Kingdom of God. I have to cast off the cares of this world and hold fast to Him. Only then will the chains fall off. He's already done it all, now it's time for me to move! It's time to take off the training wheels!

"Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”" Isaiah 6:8

"Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland". Isaiah 43:18-19

"I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. ... But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead". Philippians 3:13-14