Fearless

Grace is fearless. I have yet to find a situation that she is unwilling to enter into -- head first, running (not walking), and not looking back. This weekend, while at our local fair, we were given the chance to have a helicopter ride. Watching the helicopter from the ground as we walked through the fair, the pilot surely gave his passengers the rides of their life! Dodging up, down, sideways -- a thrill ride! As we walked to the field where the helicopter was landing, Grace could barely contain her excitement. Jacob, on the other hand, was hesitant -- clinging to me as the blades from the machine created a wind which I imagine to be similar to the beginnings of a tornado.

When the pilot was ready, Grace ran into the helicopter, without hesitation. She and my mom (her excited chaperone in this adventure) then took off, and were gone for the 15 minute ride -- zooming and swooping through the air. When the ride was over, Grace's first words were, "can we go again?"

Fearless . . .

What would life be like if we entered it fearless? The power of fear is strong -- causing stagnant immobility. I wonder if I have lost opportunities for friendship, love, personal growth because of fear; lost chances to perhaps make a small difference in this world; lost experiences that may have become a treasured memory.

Fearless . . .

Without taking that leap of faith and casting fear aside, life is never fully experienced. Ahhh, the joy of filling an empty soul with the awesome power of living fearless; living with faith; living a life boldly with courage, undaunted by apprehension! And the unexpected freedom of abandoning fear!

As sung by Steven Curtis Chapman in "Dive" --

I'm diving in I'm going deep in over my head
I want to be
Caught in the rush lost in the flow in over my head I want to go
The rivers deep the rivers wide the rivers water is alive
So sink or swim I'm diving in

I remind myself to seize the opportunity to be fearless today -- even in the small things. To talk to a stranger; to say "yes" to an outing with people I may not know well; to try a new food -- anything.

Fearless . . .