I’m a brave girl.
Hey there momma, whose heart feels a bit quivery, whose eyes are a little weepy, and whose feet will soon be stepping onto a new path,
Mind if I share a little story?
A few weeks back, in an attempt to find fun in the extreme heat, my family packed up our sand buckets, swimsuits and fishing poles and headed out to the lake.
The boys set out to catch some fish and Lydia and I decided to rent a paddle board.
It was our first time on a paddleboard together and neither of us were sure what to expect. But before long, we both settled in and found our groove. We were laughing, exploring the lake, having a great time- just me and my girl. I could have stayed in that moment forever.
Then suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere, Lydia declared, “I want to jump in!”
I knew she was ready. We have been working on water safety, practicing swimming in deep water, and managing emotions when things start to feel out of control. (plus, PLUS she was wearing a life jacket!) And ultimately, I was with her.
“If you want to jump in, go for it!” I encouraged her.
“YES!” she exclaimed as she quickly rose up onto her feet. The board shifted with her enthusiastic move and I could see her body tense as her nerves kicked in.
“Are you gonna stay right there mom?”
“Yes, love, I’ll be right here.”
“Is I’m gonna float back up?”
“Yep, your life jacket will bring you right back up!”
“O…o..ookay….I’m gonna jump!”
…….
“OhhhhhhhOH!!!”…. she blurted out half in exasperation and half in exhilaration
“I’M SCARED!” She yelled out to whoever was listening and she plopped back down onto the board.
Truth be told, I was a little nervous for her to jump too. I knew she’d be okay, but I just wasn’t sure what to expect as we’d never tried it before.
There WERE unknowns, and that felt unnerving, but there were some things we did know. So, maybe it was for her (it certainly was for me), but we began to talk through what we knew to be true.
“I get being scared,” I empathized. “New things can feel scary sometimes. There’s lots we don’t know, but let’s talk about what we do know.”
I continued on. “When you jump? You’re gonna go underwater. Head and everything. But, you won’t be under water for long, and you’ll pop right back up.
Feel the water with your hand. It’s kinda cold, huh? Sometimes the shock of it can take your breath away and make it feel hard to breathe. But you can still breathe, you just might have to remind yourself.”
I could tell she was taking it all in. “And when you do pop back up, you might see that I’m a little further away from you then you thought I’d be-water can play tricks on us like that. But you know I am right here with you and I am coming for you. Plus, you’ve learned how to float if you need to. You’re gonna be alright.
What do you say? Still wanna jump?”
Lydia smiled as if she knew she was on the edge of something big.
“Yes, I’m gonna do it!” She proclaimed as she stood up and swung her arms back, ready to launch.
………
“I’m gonna jump, mom! I am!”
………
Frozen in the moment, she turned her focus to the water and stared it down. She began talking again, this time not to me, but to herself.
“I’m kinda scared. But I’m going to jump in. I’m a brave girl.”
And with that she leapt off the board and into the water.
Maybe today you could use a little courage.
Regardless of what’s got your momma heart all twisted, and in the face of many unknowns, it might be good to rehearse what you DO know.
You might go under, but you won’t be under long.
Sometimes the shock of the jump will make you feel like you can’t breathe. You can. You might just need to remind yourself to.
And no matter how far away you think you are, God is right there with you. He is coming for you. And He has given you everything you need to stay afloat until He arrives.
You might be scared, but you can jump.
After all, you are a brave girl.
Sincerely,
A mom whose brave baby girl is headed to Kindergarten next week
