Allowing the Motion

“That wasn’t so bad after all!” says Soren, my four-year-old son, after I hoist him onto the low moving chair. We settle in for the quiet ride above the snow. His first time riding the lift. 

I can tell he is scared of the height, but he keeps saying, “It isn’t so bad.” At the top, I yell, “tips up!” I grab him around the middle, and we dismount together. Down the hill again, he skis between my legs, chastises me for going too slow.

One cannot learn to ski by standing still. Its peculiar movement requires movement, in order to master it. Perhaps children are better at this than adults. They can more easily commit to movement, accept it as a reality.

Do not be afraid to go down...for I will make you great. (Genesis 46:3) Where am I not allowing movement, out of fear? Where am I trying to move by standing on top of the hill, analyzing how it might feel to go down? Where have I yet to learn the peace and unity and aliveness of motion? Am I preventing myself, my children, from facing the darkness and danger of going down?

Help me confront my fear, and to allow the motion, knowing You are there. Amen.