Stair Climbing

Over the past few weeks, we have been spending a lot of extra time at my mom and step-dad's house. First Kiki and Matt and their boys came, then Josh and Taty; now Missy and Bruce have arrived in town. Let me just say that I love my mom's house. It is home; my mom has this uncanny ability to make any place that she is "home". It didn't matter how many times we got moved from house to house - even up to Alaska - wherever my mom was was home. My mom is an exceptional home-maker.

With that being said, watching my curious, energetic boy at my mom's house has become a genuine workout. He's into everything and just wants to be free to explore. Last night, Missy was watching him for a few minutes and came upstairs to where my mom and I were, plopped down and said, "I'm exhausted!"

Of course, Finn's favorite thing to do at my mom and step-dad's house is to go up and down the stairs. They have two separate staircases, so when he gets tired of one he moves on to the next.

Up and down. Up and down. Up and down.

And so whoever is on Finn duty obligingly trudges up and down with him.

Last night, it was my honor. He has recently learned how to scoot himself down the stairs, so that is his new fascination.

As his spotter, I never took my eyes of Finn, lest I do and he slips at that moment.
I let Finn explore and have fun with his trips up and down the stairs, but I do stay right near him, within arm's distance, and stand between him and a serious tumble. True, Finn is only 1 year old so there are times when he gets distracted and loses his focus and slips. But then my arm is there to steady him; and rather than facing a terrible end at the bottom of the stairs, he may come away with a carpet scrape, but wholly intact and healthy.

As I stood there spotting him and thinking of these things (yes, these thoughts really swarm around in my head), it became a clear picture to me of how God takes care of me. When I slip and lose my focus, God's hand is right there to steady me and get me back on track. Although I have attempted to move too fast and have made mistakes, because God stood between me and destruction, all I came away with were some scrapes and bruises. God never takes his eyes off of me, lest I should I fall.

When I help Finn down the stairs, do I allow some room for him to slip? Yes, because I want him to learn from his mistakes and correct it the next time, or the next time, or the next time.

But I do everything in my power to make sure that he doesn't seriously harm himself in the process, because I love him so much that my heart wants to explode sometimes when I just look at him.

I love him. I don't want him to get hurt but I do want him to learn. And that is why I am right there to help him, to catch him.

Psalm 94:18 "When I said, 'My foot is slipping', your love, O Lord, supported me."

1 Peter 5:7 "Live carefree before God; he is most careful with you." (MSG)