By The Seat of My Pants

SCAREDITY CAT.  That’s what I was when I was little.  Always afraid to go too fast, go too far.  Always worried that I would get hurt or break something – either a rule or a bone!  And what if I wasn’t good at it??  Yikes!  So in order to avoid participating, I stayed on the sidelines.  I made up every excuse in the book of why I wasn’t out there.  Oh I’m not feeling well.  Oh I think my ski boot is broken, etc. etc. etc. 

Not sure why I was nervous or scared.  Nothing had ever happened to me before.  And I was always amazed and slightly envious of my little sister who went through life at mock speed.  Liz was always flying.  Flying by on a horse, Flying past me down a mountain or flying behind a boat waterskiing.  I loved that she wasn’t afraid of anything.

I hated being afraid.  And I hate that my “scaredity cat” genes might have been passed along to one of my kiddos.  I hate it because I know I missed out on a lot of fun by being “chicken”.  By being afraid for no good reason!  And I don’t want these precious children of mine to miss out on anything.  Not one single thing.

So this summer, the kids and I decided this would be a summer of “Oh, What The Heck!”  We made that our motto and agreed that Summer 2012, we wouldn’t be nervous or scared or worried about anything.  We’d try new things and not think about or fret about the “what if’s”.  A summer filled with lots of new, fun sports, new activities, new adventures and lots of choices.  How will we react to new situations and new circumstances? 

Our bible study met today and we discussed choices.  We talked about making good, Godly choices in life and how hard that is to do in today’s world.  I know I have such a hard time making Mom/Wife choices; it must be so hard to do it as an 11-year-old girl.  We talked about “reaping what you sow” and how each and every decision we make today has consequences and repercussions.  We discussed where we want to be as a person in twenty years and how every choice we make today needs to take us closer to that person.

These precious middle school girls are starting to have to think about choices and consequences.  These sweet, pure, innocent girls will have to start standing up for what is right in front of their peers.  They will have to be brave and courageous in a tough world full of pressures.  God didn’t promise that this life would be an easy life but He did promise that He is always there for us.  He sent his only son, Jesus, to face this tough world.  I can’t think of anyone more brave or courageous. 

In Bob Goff’s book, Love Does, he reminds me that often our smart phones mistype LIVE for LOVE and LOVE for LIVE at times.  Which one did you mean to type?  And what if you want to do both at the same time?  Isn’t that what God wants us to do?  Doesn’t He want us to go out and joyfully live this fabulous life?  Doesn’t He want us to love this fabulous life that He gave to us?  Do we have to choose?  Can’t we do both?    

With the recent events in my life, I’ve been thinking about my life and the choices I’ve made in the past.  I’m ashamed of some of the things I’ve done to people.  I didn’t treat them right or fairly.  I’m ashamed of the way I acted when I was younger.  I’ve acted inappropriately and talked inappropriately at times.  I’m not proud of that.

But I am proud of the person I’m becoming.  I am proud of the choices I’m making today that are preparing me for a beautiful tomorrow.  Because of precious Jesus, I have been cleansed.  He died for our sins and washed all of the inappropriateness, the wrongs, and the ugly talk away!  Because of Him, I am made new and I am so, so grateful for this good news.

So since it’s still 100 degrees outside and we’ve got one more weekend to swim at the pool before it closes for the year, I’ve decided to continue with our “Oh, What The Heck!” theme and carry it through the rest of 2012.  Will you join me?  Help me to honor and glorify God by living boldly!  Join me in honoring God by living and loving vibrantly!  Choose to let your light shine brightly and join me in glorifying God by living and loving courageously!

We aren’t promised another day so let’s live it with joy and excitement!  Were there things on your “to-do” list from the summer that just didn’t get done?  What is on your “bucket list”?  Let’s choose to boldly honor and glorify God by tackling some of these and crossing them off the list.  My list might look a little insignificant but if anything were to happen, I believe these would be the times most remembered and would be time well spent.  A few items on my list include:  more sports with the kids, biking with the kids, nature trails, more picnic lunches, more horseback rides, date night with the kids individually, more date nights with the hubby, time spent with my parents and my sister, time spent with my in-laws, time with my friends.

So here’s what I’m choosing to do… I’m getting off the sideline.  I’m diving in and I’m joyfully participating.  I’m going to enjoy this great life I’ve been given.  I’m going to fly by the seat of my pants, mock speed with my hair on fire.  Now's who's buckling up beside me?