My son learned how to ride his bike without training wheels this week.  This has been a long time coming.  He was very comfortable riding around our neighborhood with them.  Several months ago, we took one wheel off and riding became a little difficult.  A short while ago, we took the other one off, and the bike sat dormant.  He had no interest in trying to ride without those training wheels.  We talked about it, strategized it, rationalized it and tried in every way possible to persuade him that it was time, but he thought otherwise.  So, the bike sat.  While the other kids in our neighborhood rode their bikes, he rode his scooter.  He convinced himself that he was happy just doing that.

A few days ago, my husband purchased an attachment for the bike. It was an elevated bar that my husband could hold to push and direct the bike while my son was riding.  My son, seeing that his father could still guide and direct the bike, relented and lessons began again.  Within the day, he was riding on his own.  As I came home from work and saw him on his bike, independently riding, his face was filled with so much joy.  He was thrilled and found so much satisfaction in his accomplishment.

Sometimes you just have to do things scared.  (A dear friend offered that nugget of wisdom to me.) We all love our training wheels- we know that we won’t fall. We won’t  feel the burning pain of scraped knees and elbows.  But God does not call us to live a life with training wheels.  Each one of us has a calling and purpose that will reflect His glory, but we can’t fulfill it with our training wheels still on.

As a team, we’ve often joked about the insecurity that arises when we sit down to write a post.  I type and erase things so many times that I have to really proof read it to ensure that what I’ve written actually makes sense.  When I click the “publish” button, I still get a sinking feeling in my stomach.  I’m not comfortable being so transparent for the world to see. But, for me, it’s part of taking my training wheels off.  I know that God has called me to this group, and that I have a purpose here.

What is it for you? What is God calling you to do? What are you afraid of- a few bumps and bruises? Take the training wheels off– He’s still behind you, guiding and directing every step that you take.  ~Shiney