Taking Risks

My daughter recently started walking, and she really knows how to strut her stuff! She has her hands out in front of her, sometimes moving around in-sync with one another, and she steps as though she is walking over boxes. Her hips sway back and forth as she moves from one point to the next, and you can tell that she is thrilled to be looking at the world at a whole different view.

But doing this meant taking a risk. It meant letting go to what was familiar, what was stable, and then....moving forward. Isn't life a lot like this? We are faced with new challenges each day it seems, whether that is taking care of a sick parent, volunteering to be PTO president, coaching our kids' soccer team, or throwing one awesome birthday party for our little kids. Either way, it's a risk. It asks us to step away from our comfort zone, and literally, sometimes, go out on a limb.

As my daughter discovered, though the risk may seem great, the reward for taking that risk is even greater. And now, she's cruising around the room quickly and purposefully, completely unaware that just weeks ago, she was only willing to let go and stand in one place. Now, she's discovering new places, new challenges, and new surprises, and all because she decided to take a leap of faith.

Life is like this for all of us. What are you being asked to take a risk with lately? It might be something very small, like really sticking to a budget for groceries, but whatever it is, are you willing to take the risk and step out in faith? Even if they are baby steps, and even though you might fall along the way, you can always get back up and continue on in pursuit of whatever it is that you are going after. So, today, GO FOR IT - whatever IT is!