“Hey kids, LOOK. Mom fell!”

I wish I could tell you this phrase has only been said about me one time in my adult life, but no… twice.

I have taken TWO pretty hard falls.

Who does that?!

And both times were on family outings to super fun places: the San Francisco Zoo and Disneyland.

And… both times were just outside the parks, as I aggressively navigated the crowds in hopes of getting my family to the best possible position, ahead of the most people.

So dumb.

In San Francisco, I had just made my move to pass a group of people, by stepping off the curb. Well, I over-stepped or something, because I tripped and landed in the street as I heard Eddie say, “Hey kids, LOOK. Mom fell.”

The second time was at Disneyland for similar reasons: in a hurry to beat the crowds to Fantasyland to ride Peter Pan first. (You should really read this story!) I fell hard, bounced a few times, and suffered some damage because of it. (You can read more about THAT here and here.)

(Deep exhale!)

Why am I telling you this?

I’m trying hard to not do the same thing in my personal life. Instead of bolting into the new year with demands on myself to have it all figured out, I’m just taking the next steps. I know where I’m headed, and I’m walking toward it with purpose. It’s a deliberate view of not competing with others, not allowing insecurity to drive my decisions, and asking God for help every step of the way.

There’s so much pressure to have it all figured out, posted to social media, marked in your calendar, and be off and running with a ‘word of the year’, goals, resolutions, a PLAN for success.

ALL of that is good! For sure!

But…

Sometimes, life has dealt a blow that requires a bit more time to process and re-group.

Or, maybe you had a December like me, exhausting and overwhelming… along with being super fun.

Rather than aggressively launch the new year, how about we gently step toward it,

My daily prayer since the middle of December is simply this:

God,

I need you,

I trust you,

Change me.

Faith is taking the first step before God reveals the second. (Mark Batterson)

So, as you take those steps into all God has for you in 2020, take them by faith, looking for God, And if you happen to fall, and hear someone say, “Hey LOOK. She fell,” …simply get up, get out of the street if you need to, and keep going.